Hot Blooded
by plenoptic
Summary: Opposites attract, and it doesn't get much more opposite than a vengeful vampire and an emotionally crippled CEO. Neither of them wants to love or be loved, not again, but both feel that it's going to happen whether they like it or not. Seto Kaiba x Zero Kiryu. CRACK, YAOI. Bizarre crossover.
1. Teardrop

**This is the crossover yaoi from hell (or heaven, depending on how you look at it).**

**For Ryo! My favorite bishounen banging hers! That's friendship.**

_Plenoptic_

* * *

_Love, love is a verb_

_Love is a doing word_

_Fearless on my breath_

_Gentle impulsion_

_Shakes me, makes me lighter_

_Fearless on my breath_

_-Massive Attack_

* * *

"…_Zero. Yuki and I are going to 'end.' We are the last of the purebloods. With our death, the time of our kind will end. Only those of mixed blood shall remain."_

_No. He didn't want to see this. He was tired of dreaming this. Tired of having to relive it again._

"_I've left you enough of my blood to last a year. Do what you must, Zero. Destroy the rest of the level E's. End the threat to humanity. Allow those vampires willing to cooperate to coexist with the humans. Those who refuse…you know what to do, hunter that you are."_

_No more. No more of those sad dark eyes, no more of that pitying look…_

"_Yuki's last wish was that you find happiness, Zero. Close this chapter of your life. Move on. Take what time I've given you to finish the job your parents left you with. But after that…you'll have to find someone with blood potent enough to sustain you."_

_Kaname had smiled then, lifting Zero's chin, wiping his tears._

"_Shh, love. It's alright. Live, Zero. Take out all of your rage and your grief on the curse the purebloods have left, but then you must move on. Find another. Start anew."_

_He didn't want 'another.' He didn't want anything new. He wanted Kaname. Just Kaname._

"_I love you, Zero. I do. It's all for you, don't you see? It's not too late for you, believe it or not. You can still find something happy. Something away from all of this…"_

_Gentle fingers brushed the tattoo on the side of his neck. A hand tangling in his hair, a mouth on his, kissing him for the last time. _

_Please. Please, no more._

"_I have to go, Zero. Remember what I've said. Move on._

"_Forget about me."_

"…Asshole."

Zero Kiryuu sighed, running a hand through his hair before surreptitiously sipping from the flask he'd hidden in his coat. It was hard to get away with having containers of alcohol in public in Japan, but he made do. It had occurred to him, initially, that blood might look reasonably like tomato juice or fruit juice, but he couldn't bear the thought of putting all he had left of Kaname in a water bottle. Carrying it in a flask like some common boozer wasn't much better, but at least it was a nice one. It had been Haruka's, at one time, and was emblazoned with the Kuran family crest. A handsome piece. And it was all that was sustaining a hunter who was dangerously close to dropping to level E.

Said hunter returned the flask to his coat, withdrawing a small black notebook in its place. The worn pages were full of names, all crossed out with dark ink—all but one. Japan was his jurisdiction, and for the last nine months he'd been systematically wiping out every known Fallen human within its borders, including some unknowns along the way. He'd been methodical, almost robotic. Cross had implored him to take a break several times, but Zero found that he couldn't stop. He couldn't rest. He couldn't eat. All he could do was hunt, and slowly drink away the last of Kaname's blood.

He had three months left.

The hunt was easy this time. It was a newly Fallen. Its kills were messy, its trail easy to find. Zero waited for nightfall before following it, staying stealthy, tracking it unopposed. He actually caught sight of it a few times—it had been a human male, maybe in his thirties or early forties. But it was just a _thing_ now, blind with bloodlust, and only growing hungrier. He followed it leisurely, savoring the hunt, almost amusing himself with taking his time. This was all the control he had left, the lifespan of this one monster. He couldn't control Kaname and Yuki, or Aido and the others when they had gone off to "acclimate" to their new lives, or the Hunters' Society when they told him to finish up in Japan. But he could control how long this one pathetic Fallen lived.

It darted into a side alley, senses aroused, and Zero followed, withdrawing the Bloody Rose from its holster at his hip. It had caught a scent, found a girl walking home alone. She didn't scream, but Zero heard her panicked footfalls as she ran, heard its lithe movements, slithering like a snake.

The retort of gun fire was sharp and loud in his ears, louder than normal, even over the strange thudding of his heart. The level E rounded on him, fangs beared, and lunged. It was younger than he'd thought, faster and more unpredictable. Teeth found his shoulder, bit through his heavy coat and found flesh. He saw and smelled blood—his, mingled with Kaname's, all he'd ingested in nine months—and then he squeezed the trigger.

He filled the last level E in Japan with as many bullets as he had left.

A sick thud, and then it was on the ground. Dead. Zero stood motionless, staring down at it, watching the blood leak from its body onto the pavement. There was a roaring in his ears, had been since Kaname died, but now everything suddenly went quiet.

The world spun. He felt his knees hit the pavement, but didn't feel any pain—couldn't. The only pain in the world was the pain of losing Kaname. Zero closed his eyes.

For the first time in nine months, he went to sleep.

* * *

"_Were you in love with him?"_

_He looked sideways, frowning. "In love with who?"_

_The blonde shifted restlessly, curling a little deeper into the blankets. "…With Atem."_

_He groaned, throwing off the blankets, putting out his cigarette in the tray at his bedside. "Jesus Christ, Joey."_

"_I'm being serious!"_

"_So am I!"_

"_Just answer the question!"_

_A heated moment, glaring at one another, blue eyes on brown, and then he yielded with a sigh._

"_No. No, alright? I wasn't."_

"_You swear?"_

"_Joey!"_

"_Swear!"_

"_Yes! I swear I wasn't in love with fucking Atem! What the hell is this about?"_

_Joey scowled, turning his gaze away. "You've been all…mopey since he left."_

"_I'm always mopey. I'm __**me**__."_

"_I mean, like…I dunno. Apathetic. At least get mad every once in a while. Or call me an idiot, like you used to."_

"_Fine. You're an idiot. Happy now?"_

"_That's not what I meant."_

_He groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Then what do you mean, Joey? I'm not a mindreader, I don't know what the hell you want from me."_

"_I want you to love me." It was mumbled, but he caught it, and it irked him._

"_What the hell do you call this?"_

"_There's a difference between sex and a relationship, jackass."_

_He scowled darkly, and lit up another cigarette. "I thought you knew what you signed up for."_

"…_Yeah, well. So did I."_

"…that cool?"

Screw him. Screw Joey and Atem and the lot of them. Hadn't he been saying that this whole time? When did he stop listening to himself?

"Bro? Is that cool with you?"

"Hn?" Seto Kaiba snapped from his reverie, blinking at the keys being swung in front of his face. Mokuba sighed, pocketing the car keys and crossing his arms.

"I said I'm going to the game shop. Is that alright?"

"To the—oh. Right. Yeah, sure, whatever," Seto muttered, scrubbing a hand tiredly over his face. His cheeks felt cold to the touch. How long had he been standing there, staring out an open window like a dumbass? Worse—like a heartbroken girl. Eugh.

"You okay?" Mokuba questioned, keeping on his heels as his older brother pushed off the window frame, stretching and heading back toward the kitchen. "You seem out of it."

"How many cups of coffee did I have this morning?"

"I dunno, two?"

"My minimum for functionality is three."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Uh-_huh_. Why don't you just _call_ you-know-who if breaking up is wigging you out so much?"

"Didn't you have somewhere to be?" Seto demanded, scowling darkly as he poured himself magic number three. "And why the hell have you got the keys?"

"I'm driving," Mokuba replied. "Duh."

"You can't drive, you're, what, twelve?"

"I'm sixteen, jerk," Mokuba laughed, spinning the keyring around on his finger and smirking at his older brother. Seto made a grab for the keys, only to have Mokuba jerk them out of reach. The kid had shot up in the last six months. It seemed like only yesterday he'd barely come up to Seto's waist, but now the top of Mokuba's scruffy head came level to his nose. An impressive feat, considering Seto Kaiba's height. The thought sort of made Seto miss the loveable little kid who had hung on his every word and worshipped the ground he walked on. Those days seemed happier, somehow, even with the madness that had surrounded them.

"Seriously," Mokuba was saying, ignorant of his older brother's nostalgia, "call Joey. It sucks seeing you like this, all mopey and crap. Or you could go fire someone, that always puts you in a creepily good mood."

"Get out of here," Seto retorted, smothering a grin at his brother's snark. Mokuba offered up a mock salute before heading out the door, whistling tunelessly as he went.

The smile faded quickly once Mokuba had left, and a sigh left him. _Mopey? What am I, ten?_ He'd been a pissy little girl when Joey was around, and he was no different now that his idiot ex-boyfriend was gone. He doubted calling the moron and dredging up all that bad blood was going to make him feel any better.

…Maybe he _should_ fire someone. The payroll felt a little too full. The economy was in the tubes, money was tight, right?...It'd never work. He doubted he could fake monetary problems and keep a straight face. He was the goddamn Batman of Domino City.

Coffee cup number four passed what remained of the morning in relative quiet. It was Sunday—Mokuba was out, the maids were out, the cook was out, hell, even Roland was at home. The silence was unsettling. A year ago, he would have relished the peace, gotten some work done, enjoyed the solitude. Now the quiet was unsettling, and he sort of missed the company.

"Crap. Crap, crap, damn it all to hell. And crap again." He was either growing up or getting soft. Or both. And he couldn't decide which scared him more.

It was just past noon when he made himself leave the house, passing over his car and pulling the bike out of the garage. It was a Yamaha R6, a little outdated, but he loved the thing. She really opened up on the highway, purred like a kitten when he pushed her to her limits, like she enjoyed the challenge as much as he did. And when in the _hell_, he wondered to himself, throttling down the sidestreets, out of the main traffic, did he start referring to a motorcycle as a 'she'?

Maybe because a 'she' could keep him company, and a bike couldn't?

He stopped the bike for no particular reason, kicking down the stand and pulling off his helmet with a little more ferocity than was absolutely necessary, and then he stood there on the side of the street, feeling frustrated and pent-up, like an electrical current with no outlet.

Joey hadn't been wrong. Not exactly. Seto had never loved Atem, had never even considered that he might, but he did..._need_ him. Not as a lover or as a friend, but as a rival. He needed something to give him the traction to keep him grounded, something to fight against, something to force him to be better. Living in a world without the spiky-haired punk was like living in a world without friction, and eventually he was going to slip off an edge and just _fall_. It made him feel bored and irritable and useless.

Yugi was still around, he supposed, but the kid never put up any _fight_, never tried to hit back. The departed spirit was the one Seto had beef with, and no matter who Seto swung at now, their rivalry would never be resolved. He'd hated Atem's constant opposition when the insufferable jerk was around, and now that he was gone, Seto desperately wished he'd show his smug face again—if only so he could clock him. _Just once_.

"…Dammit."

He lost track of how long he sat on the sidewalk, sulking and feeling generally like a sullen little kid. He wasn't especially fond of this part of town—a lot of weird folks skulking about, the kind he worried about Mokuba getting involved with sometimes. That aside, it smelled weird. Sort of rotten and rusted, like an unkempt garage. Like blood.

…Like _blood_?

"The hell…?" He turned himself around, frowning, looking up and down the sidewalk. There wasn't a wounded animal or something staggering around. He checked his wheels—no evidence that he'd unwittingly hit something. He wondered if, in his stupor, he'd trodden on a rodent underfoot, but his shoes were clean.

Feeling a little idiotic for _searching_ for whatever smelled like a dead deer, he had a poke around the road, nudging a few garbage bags aside to see if maybe there was a raccoon hording something disgusting underneath. There were several alleys heading off the sides of the road, and against his better judgment he started looking around those too.

_What if I find a body?_

…Holy shit, what _if_ he found a body? He hadn't seen a dead human being since he'd pushed his bastard of a stepfather out a tenth-story window (not that he really considered Gozaboro Kaiba a human being now, if he'd ever). _Hey, Mokuba, what did you do today? What, me? I found a dead body. No big deal. _

The scent was strongest in the third alley he searched, and as he made his way down the street, it only grew stronger, until only his iron will kept him from gagging. He'd always hated the scent of blood. It brought back the worst sorts of memories. Still, he pressed on, curiosity getting the better of him—especially when a shape began to form along the left side of the alley.

Seto stopped in his tracks, one hand covering his mouth and nose, eyes watering, stunned. The figure was clothed in black, and the alley was unlit, on the wrong side of the sun, but he could tell it was a male. He took a cautious step forward, and his stomach writhed when something _splashed_.

Slipping one hand into his pocket to grip his phone tightly—the police generally liked to know about corpses—he inched forward, ever cautious. He had no reason to assume the guy was dead, and if he wasn't, Seto Kaiba was sure as hell _not_ about to get knifed in a creepy back alley. That would just be too hysterically pathetic.

"Hey," he said, extending a foot to nudge the guy's leg. "You alive or what?"

No response, not that he'd been expecting one. More or less sure that he was not in immediate danger, Seto crouched down, tilting his head to try and get a look at the face beneath the black hood. What he saw first was a shock of silver hair. The head was leant forward, chin on chest, which moved while Seto watched.

"Damn," he muttered, withdrawing his phone and flipping it open to the keypad, thumb hovering over the emergency number—when the guy's hand shot out, seizing hold of his wrist. Seto, to his credit, didn't cry out, if only because he was too startled to do much more than stare.

"…_Don't_…"

"Don't what?" Seto demanded weakly, lowering himself onto his ass and staring in bewilderment at the coughing figure. It was a wet cough, and something red hit his shoes. _Don't puke, do not vomit, dammit._ "Don't call an ambulance to get over here and save your ass?"

"_Can't_," the figure hissed, breath hitching.

"Can't what?"

"…_Save_…"

Zero leant his head back against the wall, coughing blood. He was so _thirsty_. Where was his flask? Kaname's blood…he needed his pureblood's gift…

The sun moved directly overhead, and struck the head of the man kneeling in front of him. Zero narrowed his eyes against the shine from the brunet hair, warmth spreading through him. Kuran's hair had looked like that in the sun, hadn't it? That dark brown, suddenly lit up with light, had been just as beautiful, had run with highlights of gold…

Zero reached out, _reached_, sighing quietly when he felt soft locks between his fingers, a smile crossing his face. "Kaname…"

* * *

Priestess Isis had loved Seth. She had watched him grow from a reckless youth of fifteen to a towering pharaoh, a man she was proud to know, a man who had ruled Egypt with kindness and love. They had been inseparable during the days of his rule. She was his closest advisor and friend, and she had loved him like a brother. He'd died a young man, and it had destroyed her. Nothing had been the same once Seth was gone. Nothing.

Ishizu Ishtar could never claim to be the priestess herself, but she knew the woman's ancient memories as vividly as she did her own. And that was why, when she received a phone call and a grudging request to come to the Kaiba mansion, she went. All she saw when she looked upon that sad young man was Seth, and her heart went out to him. Ishizu could deny Seto Kaiba nothing. If he knew that, he didn't take advantage of it—this was the first time he'd ever asked _her_ for help.

"I didn't know who else to call," he sighed when he let her into the house, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry for dragging you away from work."

"It's no problem." She looked at him, at his weary stance and his tired eyes. "What's happened? You look awful."

He smirked, rubbing the back of his neck. "I found a body."

"…You found a body."

He beckoned to her, and she followed him up the plush stairs, horribly confused and more than a little nervous. He led her into a guest room and stood beside the open door, indicating the inside with a grimace.

"I don't know what to do."

Ishizu halted on the threshold, staring into the room, her mouth open. There was a boy on the bed, bare from the waist up, eyelids fluttering with each ragged breath. There was blood _everywhere_—on the sheets, in his silver hair, covering his pale skin.

"Gods," Ishizu breathed, approaching the bed slowly and sinking onto it, reaching out to brush the boy's fringe from his forehead. He felt clammy, fevered. Sweat matted his hair to his brow. "What happened to him? His shoulder…"

"No idea," Seto said tightly. "I was going to call an ambulance, but he stopped me."

"And you listened?" she demanded, the tiniest bit hysterical. She swept her dark hair behind her ears. "I'm amazed he's not dead already. Look at the blood, Seto! He needs a doctor!"

"He doesn't want to see one, he made that clear," Seto replied testily. "He said he couldn't be saved."

"So why call me?"

"I don't know," the young man snapped, coming to stand at the foot of the boy's bed. "I don't know, alright? Just…do something, Ishizu. I don't care what."

She released a long, low sigh, eyes tracking up and down the youth's prone form. "He's not bleeding too badly now," she said slowly. "We need to get him cleaned up, first off. Pack the wound with sterile gauze and antibiotics, sew it up and dress it."

"Just tell me what you need."

They spent ten minutes putting together a list, Ishizu ticking off items on her fingers and Seto nodding, mentally tracking the calls he'd have to place.

"We'll need an IV unit," the museum curator said. "Can you get that?"

"Please. Who are you talking to?"

"Without anyone asking questions."

He considered, tapping through the contacts on his phone before nodding suddenly. "Yugi. His grandfather was home sick with pneumonia two months ago, the hospital had him on an IV unit to keep his fluids up."

Ishizu lifted an eyebrow. "Yugi will want to know why you need it."

"Then I'll tell him. Kid's good with keeping secrets, he's had enough of them." He looked down at the unconscious young man on the bed and frowned. "You really think we can save him? I don't know the first thing about treating traumatic injuries. I don't think I'd know where to start even if I did."

"Neither do I," she sighed heavily, "but you called me, so I'll help. We'll do what we can."

* * *

**More to come.**


	2. I'll Be Gone

_When the lights go out and we open our eyes_

_Out there in the silence, I'll be gone_

_I'll be gone._

_Let the sun fade out and another one rise,_

_Climbing through tomorrow, I'll be gone_

_I'll be gone._

_-Linkin Park_

* * *

Zero was warm. For the first time since Kaname's death, he felt like he'd slept, really slept, like he was floating on a cloud, coming out of a deep, dreamless slumber. His dreams were normally nightmares, so he savored the feeling of not having dark shadows creeping about his subconscious. He enjoyed the process of waking slowly, of drifting gently back into his body.

His lids and limbs were heavy as stone, and for a few minutes he could lift neither. So instead he just floated, feeling pleasantly disembodied. At length he felt some strength returning to him, and he twitched his fingertips as a test. His left hand responded at once, but his right was slower. He became aware of dull waves of pain racing up and down his chest and arm, and a curious numbness just about everywhere else.

And then the memory of the last level E came back to him, and he opened his eyes, sitting bolt straight up and inhaling sharply when his shoulder flared, red-hot with pain. He didn't give it time to subside, frantically scanning his surroundings. No gun. No flask. No _clothes_, why the hell wasn't he wearing—

"…Well. That's highly unlikely."

Zero whipped his head upwards, and his eyes landed on a young man sitting in a chair nearby. One dark eyebrow was raised up into an equally dark fringe of hair, blue eyes set on Zero quizzically.

"Who the hell are you?" Zero demanded, unconsciously pulling the blankets up over his boxers in an attempt to hang onto some dignity. "Where am I?"

The man frowned, looking down at his watch. "You lost a liter of blood less than fourteen hours ago, by my estimates. Why are you awake?"

"Sturdy that way. Who are you?"

"_I'm_ sturdy," the young man replied curtly, closing the book he'd had open in his lap and getting to his feet. "_You're_ superhuman." He was dressed simply, shaped black slacks and a light blue dress shirt, open one button lower than Zero was quite comfortable with, revealing sharp collarbones and just the faintest, teasing look at the skin below.

Speaking of teasing. "Why don't I have any clothes on?"

"That wasn't my doing," the other answered, shrugging one shoulder and placing his book on the small table by his chair. It was then that Zero noticed the other object on the same table.

He felt himself grow hot under the collar, and he released a low growl. "Give me my gun."

"You're Zero Kiryu, right?" the man went on, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolding it, frowning as he mulled it over.

"Hey, _asshole_. Give me my gun and maybe I won't shove it up your ass."

"I'll take that as a yes, then. So, Zero Kiryu, any reason in particular that when I ran your name on an international database, there would be no record that you exist? Despite the fact that the identification card in your jacket very clearly gives your name, age, and ethnicity?"

Zero took a deep, steadying breath, trying to ease the pounding in his ears. He was _thirsty_, dammit, he didn't want to be close to anyone right now. He was craving Kaname's blood, and in the absence of that, the nearest beating human heart was singing its sweet siren song to the monster inside him. "Give me my gun and my clothes and let me out of here."

"Your clothes won't do you much good, they were torn to shreds. Did you walk torso-first into a woodchipper or what?"

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Kaiba," the other replied crisply, finally looking at Zero, finally making eye contact with him. Zero stilled, uncomfortable under the gaze. Sharp, hard, unfathomably _blue_. "And you're not answering my questions."

"Give me my gun."

"Why?"

"Are you an idiot? Because it's mine!"

"I _would_ be an idiot if I gave an unknown stranger a gun in my own house," Kaiba replied flatly. "Is your name really Zero?"

"If I answer, will you give me my damn gun?"

"I'll consider it."

"Yes, my name is really Zero. But don't call me that." Only Kaname and Yuki had called him Zero, and they'd been the last to do so.

"I wouldn't be so pretentious as to call you by your first name, Kiryu. I'm Japanese, after all."

"The Japanese are polite. They'd give me my gun back without asking annoying questions."

Kaiba stared at him wordlessly for a moment—not speechless, it didn't seem, just considering him. Sizing him up, Zero realized, just like he was doing to him.

"It's illegal for you to carry a firearm in Japan," Kaiba said at length, watching Zero carefully.

"No more so for me than for you," Zero growled out. Kaiba had the decency to look surprised—if that was the emotion that quirked eyebrow signified, anyway. Zero spoke over the unasked question. "I've been around the block enough to know when someone's packing."

A short pause, and then Kaiba reached into his waistband at his back, pulling out his pistol and holding it sideways, letting Zero look at it and take a guess at its caliber before making a point of laying it on the table beside the Bloody Rose.

"I'm willing to answer your questions," Kaiba said pointedly, "if you'll answer mine."

"I can't guarantee I'll answer."

"Neither can I."

Zero scowled. "I play along, I get my gun back. Deal?"

"I told you I'm not just handing you a loaded weapon. What kind of idiot do you take me for?"

_An idiotic one. _Zero ground his teeth. "Why am I in your house?"

"Because I found you unconscious in an alley," Kaiba answered, smirking. Zero felt the immediate and overwhelming urge to hit him in the face. "And you told me not to call an ambulance, so I brought you here."

Oh. Zero vaguely remembered some of that—no, more specifically, he remembered seeing Kaname, and reminding Kaname that no human could save him now, and touching Kaname's hair…a hallucination, apparently, and an unfortunate one at that. How he could have mistaken this arrogant little prick for Kaname was entirely beyond him.

Thinking of Kaname only reminded him of his thirst, and he closed his eyes for a moment, repressing the need. His vampiric senses were keen, and all the keener when he was hungry. He could _hear_ the beating of the other heart in the room, the pace a little quicker than was normal.

"Ask me," he said through grit teeth, "and make it fast."

"Why are you carrying a gun?"

"Because I needed to shoot something."

"Some_one_?"

"Some_thing_. You have ears, use them."

"What are you, a hitman?"

Zero snorted, nostrils flaring. "Something like that. I didn't kill anyone who's going to be missed. Next question—where's my flask?"

Kaiba frowned. "There wasn't a flask on you. Not that I saw."

Shit. Shit, shit, _shit_. Had it fallen from his coat in the fight? Gotten kicked into a shadow in the alley, escaped the human's notice? Dammit! "Do you know the location of the alley? Where you found me."

"Of course I do." Kaiba looked over his shoulder, eyeing the Bloody Rose where it lay, deceptively innocent. "If I give you that gun, are you going to make me regret it?"

"You'll regret it if you _don't_ give it to me." Because his hunger was getting the better of him. He'd feel better with the Bloody Rose in his hand. It would stabilize him, remind him of what he was—a hunter first, and Shizuka's abomination last. Only Kaname's blood would truly sate him, he knew that, and feeding from the human who had saved him would be a shame on Kaname's sacrifice.

"What happened to you?"

"Why does that matter?!" Zero snapped, frustrated. "_Give me my gun_. I'll leave. I'll even see myself out, so as not to _bother_ your prissy ass."

Kaiba was quiet, and once more he looked away from Zero, his gaze wandering to the Rose, and suddenly Zero couldn't wait anymore. He coiled himself on the bed, every muscle drawn taut, and then he sprang, threw himself onto the other man before Kaiba could react. They went to the ground with a combined shout. Zero tried to grab the other's wrists, receiving a sharp knee in the gut for his efforts. Grunting, he changed his strategy, throwing a hard punch into Kaiba's midsection. That got him a fucking _headbutt_, and he tasted blood, felt his nose go numb.

They rolled, and Zero felt hands close on his throat. He scrabbled, his hair in his eyes, blinding him, but he grabbed hold of Kaiba's shirt collar. A brief tussle for control—and Zero lost all pretense of restraining himself, of holding back his strength so as not to badly hurt the other. He jerked his hands, throwing the other boy, and there was the sick sound of flesh on wood.

_Motherfucker._ Kaiba lay still, blinking rapidly, and then his right eye was blinded. _Shit_. He was bleeding. He saw stars, and dimly realized that he'd smashed his head on the table leg when the psychopath threw him over. His only thought was for Mokuba, who would be coming home from school soon, unaware that there was someone dangerous and unguarded in the spare bedroom, and then consciousness escaped him.

Zero sat up, panting, wiping his bleeding nose on the back of his hand and grimacing at the sight of the blood before looking down at the man he'd knocked out. He stilled at the sight of the other's blood—bright red, pouring freely down Kaiba's face from the gash in his hairline where he'd impacted the table. Zero's inner beast fairly roared its hunger, and he reached out mechanically, touching his fingertips to the red liquid and shivering.

He'd been fourteen hours with Kaname's blood, which he drank sparingly. He hadn't felt sated in _weeks_, and now the urge was overwhelming. The smell, the feel, the sight of it… he lifted his fingertips up in front of his face, his breath quickening. Against his better judgment, he brought his fingers to his lips.

It took only a breath for him to lose control entirely. He'd unleashed his inner monster, and he didn't care, not the slightest. Just a little. What was a taste? One swallow? Then he'd be gone, he'd return to the Society, and he could finally join Kaname…

He was swifter in his hunger. He pulled the unconscious man closer, opened his shirt, heedless of the buttons ripping free of the fabric. _Thirsty_. He grabbed a handful of dark hair and forced Kaiba's head back, exposing the pale skin of his neck. Zero groaned quietly, leaning down, hearing and smelling the blood rushing through the carotid artery. There'd be a sweet spot in its flow, different with everyone. He let his vampiric side take him there, found the calling to be loudest at the junction of jaw and neck, just below the ear. His tongue darted out, worrying the skin, and he groaned, hips shifting.

_A tongue on the side of his neck, hungry, searching. Kaname purred darkly above him, heat pouring from his bare flesh, his eyes overbright in the dark. Zero shifted, panting, running a hand through the tumble of loose curls, licking his upper lip before bringing the pureblood in for a hot kiss. Their tongues mingled, fangs scraped, and then Kaname jerked his head back, tangling his hand painfully in Zero's hair so he could expose the sleek column of his throat. Fangs pierced him, almost tenderly, and Zero's vision went white. He lost himself to the pleasure of blood drink, while Kaname's hand fumbled at the front of his pants, teasing him, promising him with touch alone—_

_And then Kaname shifted, in body and face and scent, Zero felt the softness of clothes, saw a brightly colored scarf just in front of him, felt the cold of snow in his hair. And the blonde in front of him laughed, untangling their fingers to tug on Zero's scarf, and pulled him down to his height. They kissed, and Zero didn't care who saw, didn't care about anything but the warmth, the other's closeness melting the snow in his hair. It was Christmas and he was kissing his stupid idiot of a boyfriend in the falling snow, and it was cheesy and ridiculous and so utterly beneath him, but he didn't care, not in that moment. There was one person in the world, besides Mokuba, who loved him. He didn't want anything else. Nothing—_

Zero drew back, panting, mouth and chin smeared with red, his heart a jackhammer in his chest. The rushing in his ears was gone. The roaring hunger that had been present since he'd last sunk his fangs into Kaname's neck was gone. He felt satisfied. _Sated_. He felt warm and content. Worse, he felt _stable_. The looming threat of a level E's mentality was gone from his suddenly clear mind.

"_You'll have to find someone with blood potent enough to sustain you."_

_No. _

When Zero felt conscious enough to think again, he was standing outside, the spring wind whipping through his hair. He'd found his clothes, apparently, and the Bloody Rose was safely tucked inside his torn, bloodied coat. He turned off the road his feet had carried him to robotically, hitting a side street. He didn't need senseless questions from passerby, didn't need the suspicion. He had to clean his face and get into some inconspicuous clothes, and then he needed to get the hell out of Domino City.

Why the fuck had the blood he'd illicitly taken carried Kaiba's memories with it? It had made sense when he drank from Yuki, and eventually from Kaname, but from someone he'd just met, someone he didn't care about and didn't know? No—

And why did he feel so calm? Calmer than he'd _ever_ felt since that bitch bit him and stole his humanity away. Why had his hunger been abated, why hadn't he been able to stop drinking, why did he feel so…okay?

Mind whirling, anger and confusion biting at his gut, Zero walked, and he tried his best not to look back.

* * *

Mokuba got home tired. School was a bitch. He was in real danger of failing math. And English. And Japanese. And history. He was in real danger of flunking out of school entirely. It wasn't that he was dumb, he _knew_ he wasn't dumb. He'd done more real-world stuff at twelve than most kids did their entire lives. The problem was that he was bored. After Duelist Kingdom and Battle City and the KC Grand Championship, how was he supposed to go back to school and learn his kanji and his equations like a good boy? He wanted back in the _game_.

He'd been mulling it over for some time, and decided he needed to just sit Seto down and tell him the truth. That he was bored out of his skull at school, that he didn't care about finishing, that he wanted to find something else, something outside the mainstream. Nii-san would be pissed, but at the same time, Mokuba knew he'd get it. Seto Kaiba had never been able to settle for normalcy either.

"Bro? I'm home," Mokuba called as he stepped inside, kicking his shoes off in the doorway. No answer. Eh, the mansion was big. The youth traipsed into the kitchen, ditching his bag on the table and opening up the fridge. He opened up a can of soda, checking the pile of mail on the counter. He had a letter from Leon von Schroeder, who was studying abroad in America. They had internet stateside, didn't they? Mokuba laughed as he read it. The kid was so out of date for the second heir of one of the biggest tech corporations in Europe.

The mansion was quiet today, and it bummed Mokuba out a little bit. Usually there were familiar faces popping in and out. Joey had been a constant presence—up until recently, Mokuba reminded himself with a grimace—and Yugi frequented the mansion often. He was the King of Games, and Kaiba Corp was the biggest manufacturer of DM tech in the world. He and Seto beat out some sort of grudging truce that allowed them to work together in relative peace.

Now that he thought about it, hadn't Ishizu Ishtar been by yesterday? That had surprised Mokuba. He hadn't seen her since the weirdness in Egypt, and suddenly she'd been at his house, running around looking harried and talking with Seto in urgent undertones. He hadn't even been bothered to see her, which struck Mokuba as even stranger. Seto hadn't seemed fond of the Ishtars, and Ishizu least of all, who kept telling him freaky shit about his past or whatever. But the woman had been there, and she and his brother got along like old friends. She'd even called him Seto.

Weird. Mokuba worked on his soda as he mounted the stairs, putting the strangeness of yesterday out of his head as he tried to formulate a viable argument to present to his brother. "Bro, I want to drop out of school." Yeah, no, that wasn't gonna fly. Seto had hated high school too, but he graduated. Of course. He did it without breaking a sweat. Dammit, Seto must have been bored out of his mind too. Gozaboro had slammed him with high school level academics the second they took the Kaiba name. _Yeah, well, I'm not my brother._ Not that Seto expected him to be. Thank God for small miracles.

"Nii-_saaaaann_. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Mokuba poked his head into the upstairs study. Nope. The laptop wasn't even on. Was his brother at the office? When Seto's bedroom turned up clean too, Mokuba tried his cell phone. He got the voicemail, and didn't hear it ring from anywhere upstairs. On vibrate, maybe?

Figuring his brother for out, Mokuba loitered upstairs, toying with the idea of starting his homework. Screw that, he'd need Seto's help anyway, and besides…he'd just discovered the network multiplayer of his favorite game, and that was all he'd been able to think about at school. Couldn't hurt to log a few hours and up his killstreak, right? He seemed to remember leaving his console in the upstairs guest room. Seto had been watching the news downstairs, and Mokuba demanded excellence when it came to the screen size he gamed on. The crappy flatscreen in his room wasn't good enough for online bloodbaths (sure, they had the money to get him the sexiest model on the market, but that didn't mean Seto was going to encourage his brother's addiction).

Mokuba all but skipped into the guest room, turning on the console and the television, waiting for both to hum to life before setting his drink down on the table. He turned to cross the room and grab an armchair from the corner—

And his heart just about stopped.

"What the—_Seto?!_"

* * *

There was nothing for it. He'd just go, make sure the idiot would pull through, and then he'd haul ass out of there. Why the hell was he even going?! Oh, yeah. Mokuba had called him, and the kid had sounded so shaken up that he wasn't even done asking when Joey was pulling on his coat and shoes and heading out the door.

"_Which hospital?"_

"_Domino General. I just—I'm sorry, Joey, I know you're not the one I should be asking, but I—"_

"_Relax, kid. I know. I'm on my way."_

The bus rattled and jumped its way down the poorly paved streets of Joey's neighborhood, jostling him and making him bang his head against the pole he was holding onto, but he ignored the pain. His mind felt curiously blank. He supposed he ought to be terrified, going to see the last person on the planet he wanted to see, or maybe excited, going to see the only person on the planet he ever wanted to see. Instead he just felt numb. And maybe a little freaked out that his ex had been found bloodied up and unconscious in his own house.

Not really badly hurt, Mokuba had assured him, but he was out of it and had hit his head, and the docs weren't taking chances. Besides—the neck injury had been weird. Mokuba hadn't given details on the phone, just said it was weird. Like, freaky weird. Joey was used to freaky weird, but that didn't really make it much easier to deal with when it afflicted someone he lo—knew. Someone he knew.

The bus ride across town normally took forever, but today of all days it didn't take long enough. Joey felt horribly ill-prepared for what was to come as he stepped off the bus in front of the hospital. Roland was hovering outside, looking out of place and uncomfortable, and he pointed Joey toward the right door when he saw him.

"Mr. Kaiba chased me out of the waiting room," he said anxiously, referring to Mokuba, wringing his hands as Joey passed him. "Please stay with him if you can."

"Yeah, sure." Joey didn't feel much like lingering in the presence of the _other_ Mr. Kaiba, but he'd stick around for Mokuba's sake. The poor kid was probably a wreck.

He was the only one in the waiting room when Joey walked in, seated in the far corner, his head in his hands, looking haggard and worn out. He hadn't even changed out of his school uniform. Mokuba's head lifted when Joey approached, and he got to his feet, shifting his weight uncomfortably.

"Hey," he said awkwardly. "I mean, uh…hey."

"Hey," Joey answered, no more at ease with the situation. "Look, Moke, I, uh—shit. I dunno, man."

"Me either," Mokuba said, offering a rueful little smile. "Thanks for coming, Joey, it—it helps."

"No problem. I'da come as soon as I found out, anyway. Didja call anyone else?"

"I didn't know who to call," Mokuba said despairingly, sinking back into his chair. Joey took a seat beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I thought maybe Yugi, but then I couldn't do it, and then I thought Ishizu, but—"

"Ishizu? Ishtar? Why would you call her?"

Mokuba laughed helplessly, running a hand through his hair. "She was at the house yesterday, just, like, hanging out with Seto. Or something. I don't know."

Joey felt a strange swooping sensation in his stomach. "Are they seeing each other?"

"Nah, I don't think so. It wasn't like that. They seemed upset about something, like they were trying to figure something out." Mokuba glanced sideways at the blonde, mulling over his reaction. A little too interested in Seto's current love life, maybe? Or was that natural when two people who'd been in a relationship went their separate ways?

"Well, you called me, so I'll stick around until you're good," Joey said, patting the youth on the shoulder and offering what he hoped was a comforting smile. "No worries, kid, everything'll be fine. You eaten since you got outta school?"

An answering grumble from Mokuba's stomach. "Uh, no."

"Aight, well, hospitals normally got cafes downstairs, yeah? I'll getcha a bite while we wait on the docs. Everythin' seems better when there's food in your gut."

* * *

**Short chapters are short.**

**Don't worry, Mokuba. I choose video games over school work too. **

**Puppyshipping (SetoxJou) is my new crack, so Joey won't be completely out of the picture romantically for a while to come.**


	3. Comatose

_I hate living without you_

_Damn wrong to ever doubt you_

_But my demons lay in waiting_

_Tempting me away_

_Oh how I adore you_

_Oh how I thirst for you_

_Oh how I need you..._

_-Skillet_

* * *

"You _what_?!"

Zero grimaced, pulling the phone away from his ear. "Ow, Kaito."

"You deserve it! Who did you drink from?!"

"This guy pulled me off the street."

"He saves your life, so you take a _drink_?!"

Well, Christ, when he put it _that_ way. "He didn't _save my life_, he kidnapped me! And he wouldn't give me the Bloody Rose! I was being held captive!"

"Oh, grow up, Kiryu!"

"What do you want me to do, Kaito? Go apologize?"

A rush of static as Kaito sighed. Zero could just see him pacing the room in his mind's eye, running his hands through his hair in aggravation. "No, you better just blow town. Don't stick around any longer than you have to."

"I won't. I've got another forty-eight hours of cool-don surveillance, then I'm heading back. I'll keep my head down."

"Kiryu," Kaito said heavily, "you're going to have to tell the Elders what you did."

Zero bristled. "No."

"Listen—"

"You want me _dead_, Kaito? Is that it? Look, for just one minute this thing got me with my back turned. It won't happen again. _Ever_."

"Why were you so thirsty?"

Zero shifted his weight uncomfortably. "I got injured taking down the level E, I told you that. And I lost my flask, so—"

"_Lost_ it? You have more, don't you?"

"Back home, yeah." Zero ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the alley wall. It was the alley where he'd fought the level E, he was pretty sure, but the flask was nowhere to be found. Probably sitting in a pawn shop somewhere by now. The thought made Zero sick.

"So what the hell are you going to do until you get back?"

"…I feel fine."

"What the hell does that mean?"

It meant that he wasn't thirsty anymore, but Zero couldn't very well tell Kaito _that_. He felt as he good as he had right after drinking from Kaname for the first time, maybe better. He was clear-headed and strong, the sounds of pulsing heartbeats and rushing blood muted to his ears. He felt _human_.

"It means I'll deal, Kaito, so don't worry about it. I'll check in tomorrow, and again before I leave. Alright?"

"Yeah, sure," Kaito sighed. "Just…be careful, Kiryu, okay? If you start to have trouble again, forget surveillance, just come back. The Elders will understand."

_Yeah, right_. "I got it. Thanks, Kaito. For being cool with this."

"That may be an overstatement, but you're welcome, for what it's worth."

_Thanks for not having me killed, anyway_. Zero put his phone back in his pocket, rubbing a hand against his eyes. He'd been sarcastic when he suggested it, but now he _did_ sort of want to go apologize. Not conspicuously—maybe he could sneak in at night and leave a note or something. Explain that he wasn't entirely human, that he hadn't really meant any harm, that he hoped the punk would recover. He was positive he hadn't drunk enough to kill the guy, but humans had a hard time bouncing back from blood drink. As much as he wished he could just brush it off, Zero felt guilty.

That being said, he really did feel great. Totally himself. He flexed his fingers, rotated his bad shoulder—not that it was so bad anymore. He'd never healed up so fast before. What had been a gaping wound was now a pink swollen line, and the pain had gone away almost entirely. It was more stiff than anything as the hard, trained muscles knit themselves back together.

…Of course, if he'd been left in that alley for much longer, it may not have healed well at all. Dammit. Just one more thing he owed the human whose blood he'd taken.

Zero sighed loudly, kicking a rock lying in his path. It bounced away, hitting something with a soft _chink_ before coming to a stop. The hunter walked in the direction he'd kicked it, kneeling down to see what it had hit. There was a pendant lying on the ground. He picked it up delicately by its chain, brushing away the grime that covered it, frowning as he peered at it. It was shaped like a playing card of some sort. As he explored it, he found a latch on the side, and it opened with a soft click. The picture inside was old, faded, but the image was still clear; a young boy, smiling broadly at the camera, a chess piece clutched in his small hand.

For a moment, Zero didn't move—he was weirdly captivated by that image. Had he ever been that young? He couldn't seem to remember. Had he ever smiled that sweetly, that innocently? Probably not. Maybe. Maybe with Ichiru, once upon a time.

He pocketed the pendant and gave the rock another kick. After hours, then. He was an idiot even for considering it, but he was going to sneak into the hospital and explain himself.

And not, he told himself insistently, because he wanted to see those blue eyes just one more time.

* * *

Joey Wheeler had never much liked hospitals. Serenity had been in and out of too many, he'd sat in the waiting room too many times. He used to sit between his parents, scuffing his sneakers against the tiled floor while his parents sat in furious silence. Serenity's eyes and her treatment had always been a hard point between them. Joey wondered if that was what had ultimately driven them apart.

Not all of his experiences in hospitals had been horrible. He'd been reunited with his mother for the first time in seven years just outside of Serenity's hospital room, and the docs had fixed her eyesight in an operating room.

…He still didn't much like them.

He hovered outside of room 221, squeaking his trainers on the clean floor just like he had back then, frowning at the door. Visitors' hours would be ending soon; if he was going to go in, he had to _do_ it. Mokuba had assured him that Kaiba was asleep, had been since they brought him in. Anemia, Mokuba explained. Seto had always suffered from it, and the blood loss just made it worse. He was sedated and on an IV and wasn't likely to wake up, but…

Joey hadn't seen his face in person since they split up. Kaiba was a constant presence in the tabloids, on magazines, in newspapers, but seeing the man himself was a different experience entirely. He didn't know how he'd react, what emotions would stir in his heart. Anger? Hurt? Lo—no, please no. They'd never exchanged that particular sentiment, but it had been understood in every touch.

Had he loved Seto? Did he still? Shit.

Thirty minutes until visiting hours ended. Joey only allowed himself to fidget a moment more before steeling himself and opening the door. Mokuba had told him true; the lights were off, and save for the soft beeping of the heart rate monitor, the room was silent. He closed the door quietly behind him, dawdling for a moment longer before stepping in fully.

He seated himself slowly at Kaiba's bedside, his heart twisting in on itself. Kaiba was asleep, his head resting on his shoulder, eyelids closed over blue eyes. His hair was pushed back from the right side of his brow, leaving the stitches exposed, and there was gauze taped underneath his ear at the corner of his jaw.

_Shit_. Even bandaged and drugged up, the fricker was damn cute when he was asleep. Joey exhaled quietly, cradling his chin in his palm. He hesitated, clenching his fingers a few times, and then he extended his free hand, placing it on Kaiba's. He bit his lower lip, feeling guilty and inexplicably lonely.

"I miss you, man," he said quietly, thumbing Seto's knuckles and smiling a little. "Not like _that_, you know, just…miss havin' ya around. Remember senior year? When my dad was being more of a dick than usual? You knew I couldn't go to Yugi or to Tristan, and you just let me crash on the couch night after night. Didn't care if I was there or not, just…let me be."

He was silent again, reflecting on that year, both the worst and the happiest of his life. On the one hand, his dad got drunk and beat the shit out of him whenever they were in the same room. On the other, he'd gotten to spend his nights in the house of the most unfortunate crush he'd ever had. Kaiba had been, in turns, a douche and then sympathetic. He knew all about having a complete asshole for a father. His sympathy wasn't in the form of pats on the back or kind words. It was in the fact that the mansion's security never questioned Joey when he got to the gate, and that there was always a clean blanket on the couch, and that a spare plate magically appeared in the fridge every night.

And, occasionally, Kaiba would be a little less of a jerk than usual.

He'd never run it past the young CEO, but Joey sort of figured himself for Kaiba's first real friend. And first real love interest, but the first accomplishment felt a little more monumental. The second had happened naturally, like it was just meant to be, but the first had taken time and patience and no small amount of growing up on both of their parts. They would never high five or hang out downtown or text one another, but they'd been friends, in their own weird, dysfunctional way. Most of their 'friendly' conversations were snippy side remarks, or Kaiba irritably telling Joey how to get past a part on a game Mokuba had loaned him, or Joey laughingly telling Kaiba to pull it out of his ass, but it had worked for them.

Joey missed his friend. He also missed his boyfriend. Christ, what a weird label to pin on Seto Kaiba, of all people. They'd danced around that word, they'd never used it, but that was what it had been. That was what the man who kissed you and held you and loved you was called.

_You were my boyfriend, you fucker._

A soft announcement from the hospital's PA system alerted him to the end of visiting hours. Joey sighed heavily, getting to his feet, holding onto Kaiba's hand for just another moment.

"I've gotta run," he said awkwardly, knowing full well that Kaiba wasn't listening and not much caring. "I, uh…I dunno. Maybe I'll drop by. Er. Maybe not. Probably not. You'll be out of here soon enough, you…"

And then he ran out of things to say. His heart was telling him he shouldn't, but he leant down and pressed his lips briefly to Seto's brow. Then he straightened, dumped his hands into his pockets, turned on his heel, and left.

* * *

The security in Domino General was pathetically bad.

He walked right in the front door, and the guards posted didn't even give him a second glance. He had gone out of his way to look perfectly normal and inconspicuous, dressing in casual clothes and ditching his heavy overcoat. He wore a beanie down around his brow, hiding most of his silver hair and the rebellious piercings in his ears, and no one but a passing nurse gave him so much as a sideways glance. Zero had long since learned to project perfect, casual comfort in places he ought not to be. Compared to being the only hunter in the middle of a vampire soiree, pretending to be on his way to visit a sick relative was no sweat.

Zero turned the corner, a little startled when someone abruptly ran into him at full tilt. He stumbled back, bristling, but it was only a kid—no, a young man, his age or a little older, but shorter than him by an inch or two. He took a few startled steps backward, and Zero was surprised to see tears in his eyes.

"Sorry," the blonde mumbled, ducking his head and sidestepping Zero quickly, making his way down the hall with brisk, wide steps. The hunter stared after him for a moment, a little curious, but at length shrugged and continued on his way.

There were no extra guards on Seto Kaiba's door. That surprised Zero just a little; he'd expected one of the richest men in Japan to have muscle wherever he went. Maybe Domino was every bit the quaint, quiet little city he'd initially thought, in spite of its recent vampire problems.

Zero eased the door open, just enough to admit his slender frame, and slid it closed behind him. The lights were out, but a sniff at the air confirmed that the patient was the only one inside. A quick search on his quarry had pulled up no evidence that Kaiba had a real family, but Zero had rather expected _someone _to be around.

The fact that the room was otherwise empty struck a chord with Zero. With Kaname and Yuki gone, who would sit at his bedside were he in the hospital? Kaito, maybe, if Zero lucked out and his fellow hunter wasn't on a mission. Who would wile away the hours in anxiety, desperately praying for him to get better?

_No one. That's who._

No time for thoughts like that—nothing that would lead him toward Kaname, and the hole in him where his pureblood lover had once been. Zero scrounged in his pockets, a little irritated when no paper was forthcoming. Dammit. He'd just wanted to scribble a note and be done with it. He should have written it before coming. He never had been excellent at planning. He found a pamphlet on the bedside table with the hospital's information on it, but no pen in sight.

Sighing loudly to himself, Zero unthinkingly settled onto the side of the bed—and Kaiba groaned, twitching away from the new presence. Zero froze—but the other man only sighed deeply before going still once more. The hunter deflated, groaning and rubbing a hand against his face.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ Losing against a level E, biting a human, forgetting all pretense of silence and subtlety…something about this city, this mission, was scrambling him, making him forget what he was. He was a hunter. Silent as a shadow, quick as a cat, the swift and wordless killer. All the strength and stealth of a vampire, only _better_. Human.

It had been a long time since he'd felt human. Zero looked down on the sleeping patient, musing. This man's blood was in his veins now, mingling with his and Kaname's. As much as he hated to admit it, something about this punk corporate asshole was soothing the beast inside of him. _And those eyes. Shit, stop thinking about that._

"I don't know what I'm doing here," he said aloud, shaking his head. "I just came to say sorry. That's all. I didn't want to get hung up on all this again…"

"Hung up on what?"

Zero leapt off the bed and whirled around, reaching into his waistband to withdraw the Rose—but it was in Seto Kaiba's hand, and the CEO was looking at it carefully, thoughtfully.

There was a lot Zero could have done. He could have jumped on the asshole and _really_ bitten him this time, or he could have just knocked him out. Instead, he ground out, "Stop taking my damn gun."

"Stop leaving it out in the open," Kaiba replied smoothly, flashing Zero a wide grin that made the hunter's pulse quicken. Cool, confident blue eyes. _And damn beautiful, whether I like it or not._ "So. Come to apologize for having a cannibalistic psychotic break?"

"I'm not a cannibal," Zero said flatly. "I'm a hunter."

Kaiba arched one eyebrow. "Hunters shoot animals. They don't gnaw on people's necks."

Zero grimaced. "I didn't _gnaw_—" He broke off with a sigh, shaking his head. "Look, you won't believe me if I told you."

"You think not?"

"No. Prissy, pampered rich kids don't believe in things like monsters, do they?"

"You'd be surprised," Kaiba said with a dry laugh, but there was no real humor in it. And then, to Zero's surprise, he offered up the Bloody Rose, holding it carefully by the barrel to offer Zero the butt. For a moment, Zero could only stare, stunned, and Kaiba waved it back and forth. "What, don't want it now?"

Zero snapped out of his trance, snatching the gun back and sticking it in his waistband, scowling. "Of course I want it. Don't take it again, I'll break you in half." He paused, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. He suddenly felt thirsty—and not for a drink, but for a _drink._ "Biting you was a mistake. But you shouldn't suffer any ill effects."

"I know." Kaiba was watching him carefully, a frown creasing his brow and darkening his eyes.

The ex-human glared at him. "The _hell_ you know."

"I do." Kaiba tapped a finger to his temple, grinning. "I had a dream about it. Or, I should probably say, I saw a memory."

"A memory," Zero said flatly.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Kaiba kicked off the blankets, swinging his legs out of bed and standing up, ripping out his IVs and shaking his arms to get the feeling back and the blood flowing.

"What the hell are you doing?" Zero demanded, getting up.

"Leaving. Obviously. Turn around."

"Why?"

Kaiba sighed loudly, exasperated, before pulling the hospital gown up and over his head. For a moment, Zero just gaped—he couldn't think of anything better to do, and in that second didn't have the good sense to turn away. When he thought of software developers, he thought of pale guys with spaghetti arms and sunken chests, slouched shoulders. He didn't think hard, cut torsos and powerful shoulders and hair that spilled down across the nape of Kaiba's neck—

_Shit, shit, so much shit I don't even—_

"You're a vampire," Kaiba said as he changed—someone had left him a pile of clothes on the chair in the corner. Zero was so busy gawking and noting a lack of penis control that he didn't even register what the other man had said before Kaiba was talking again. "Vampires have been around for as long as anyone can remember. They're versed in ancient magics, and rarely intervene in the lives of humans. But they present themselves to leaders—kings, monarchs, generals—and create alliances to keep the peace."

"…Yeah," Zero said weakly. "How the hell…?"

Kaiba was silent for a time, pulling on his jeans and zipping up a jacket over his black shirt. _Tight black shirt. T-shirt. Shows off his arms. Dammit all to hell. _

"There was a pharaoh," Kaiba said, so softly that Zero actually leant forward to hear him better. "He knew. He met a vampire."

"A pharaoh. As in—an Egyptian king?"

"Yeah." Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes, as if trying to remember something that he'd only heard in passing. "Dark…dark hair. And eyes. Tall, and regal. A king himself."

_A king. And everyone who looked at him adored him, and loved him, but they didn't see what I saw. They didn't see the tortured creature beneath. They wanted him perfect, but I—_

"Kaname," Zero said quietly. Kaiba paused and turned to him, and there was recognition flashing in those blue eyes. "The vampire who went to see the pharaoh. His name was Kaname."

Seto stared at him, his face quiet and contemplative. He shrugged on his coat, opening up his cell phone and tapping Roland's number on the contacts. "Kiryu. Do you have a place to stay?"

* * *

_His footsteps were almost silent. No guard impeded him—as he approached them, curious sleep fell upon them, and they slumped against the walls._

_Someone was walking down an intersecting hallway. Kaname paused, turning his head. It was the woman, the priestess. Her hair was down, the elaborate headdress absent, and she was dressed simply as opposed to her dramatic gown and robes that she wore during court. She stopped when she saw him, and lowered her eyes._

"_My lord Kuran. Welcome."_

_He dipped his head in thanks before continuing on his way. He saw no point in disabling her as he had the guards; she understand her pharaoh's deepest and darkest plans, and never interfered. _

_The pharaoh's door was unguarded, as he had promised it would be. Kaname wondered vaguely how the other man, now all but a god, had convinced his loyal subjects to leave him in peace for the night. The early death of their previous king had left the people in terror of losing another sovereign. Kaname eased the door open, made of fine wood imported from distant lands, and stepped soundlessly into the room._

_The room was dark when he entered. He stood by the door, clasping his hands behind his back, waiting patiently for the invitation he knew was coming. There was a noise, the sound of soft footsteps, and then a candle flickered to life by the window, illuminating the man lighting its wick. He was tall, his skin bronzed by the sun. Straight russet hair fell into his blue eyes and spilled down his neck, a few loose strands nearly to his shoulders. _

"_Kaname," Seth said quietly, turning away from the flickering candle to look at his guest. "You came."_

"_As promised." Kaname stepped fully into the room, removing the cloak that had been guarding him against the bite of the desert night. "What brings me here, Pharaoh?"_

"_Don't." Seth sighed, dropping his head into his hands and kneading his knuckles against his forehead. "Don't call me that. I can't… look, Kaname, I need your help."_

"_And I happily offer it. What do you need?" Kaname moved closer to the window, leaning his weight against the wall and reaching out a hand to touch Seth's hair. "Seth. It wounds me to see so full of despair, my friend."_

"_Answer me this, Kaname," Seth murmured, lifting his head slowly, his eyes dark and full of pain. "What do you know of necromancy?"_

_Kaname drew back, startled. "Necro—Seth. Those are dark magics. Forbidden."_

"_I know," Seth said hoarsely, shaking his head. "I know, and that's why…I can't ask Isis. I can't. Not this. She thinks of me as a brother. It would crush her if she knew that I were planning on betraying my vows. To bring back the dead is against the will of the gods."_

"_The pharaoh is a god," Kaname said softly. _

"_No. I'm no king, Kaname. My cousin handed me the Millennium Puzzle before he disappeared, but that doesn't make me a pharaoh. It makes me a priest with no family left to me." He rubbed a hand against his eyes, drawing Kaname's attention to the dark circles marring his skin. "Just tell me if it can be done, Kaname."_

_The pureblood sighed, settling himself into the nearest chair, furrowing his brow. "I have heard tales of my kind being revived; the blood of the pureblood is potent, and ensures long life. But…"_

"_Reviving a human would create a vampire, if the resurrection were done with pure blood." _

"_I would imagine so."_

_Seth looked down at his hand, curling his fingers into a fist. "Between my magic and your blood…"_

"_Seth. No godly afterlife will accept a vampire. This much I know. It is an intuition my kind is born with."_

"_Then I'll turn too," Seth said fiercely, his eyes hardening. "And if I consume your blood, that will stop the fall to madness, yes?"_

"_Yes," Kaname admitted, beginning to feel defeated, "but—"_

"_You know what it's like!" Seth exploded suddenly, getting to his feet so fast his chair rocked and fell over. "You know what it feels like to outlive the one you love! You know the emptiness, the silence, the pointlessness of—" His voice caught, and he turned his head away, tightening his jaw. "I can't anymore, Kaname. I can't. I won't. It's this, or…"_

"_You'd sooner take your own life than live without her?" Kaname demanded, his gut giving a lurch of fear. He had few friends in the world in whom he could trust, and Seth was one he counted dearly among that number. If he could keep him alive, keep him hopeful…_

"_Life without her," Seth said softly, meeting Kaname's gaze, "is no life at all."_

_A long silence took them, their hard gazes unwavering, and at length Kaname exhaled lowly, running a hand through his hair. _

"_Alright," he said at last, closing his eyes. "Alright, Seth, if this Kisara means that much to you…I'll do whatever I can."_

* * *

**Introduction of secondary flash-back storyline COMMENCE!**

**Seto has Seth's memories, and Zero has Kaname's (they did share a blood bond, after all). Inexplicable flashbacks explained.**


	4. When You Were Young

**Warning: blatant Seto Kaiba predation to follow.**

* * *

_You sit there in your heartache_

_Waiting on some beautiful boy to_

_To save you from your old ways_

_You play forgiveness_

_Watch him now, here he come..._

_-The Killers_

* * *

Two days after arriving at the Kaiba Corp mansion, Zero Kiryu learned that it was possible to flush a cell phone down the toilet. He also learned that it wreaked havoc on the pipes, but the mangled piece of electronics the bewildered plumber pulled out of the u-bend was completely incapable of sending or receiving any kind of communication.

And for the first time in his life, Zero was totally free.

He got up in the early morning and sat outside in the spacious backyard, surrounded by trees and green grass and the hint of winter in the air. He sat amongst the flowers and weeds and just enjoyed the silence. He didn't report back to the Society. He didn't try to reach Kaito again. He knew someone would come looking for him when he failed to return, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. For once, he wanted vampires and hunting to be the furthest thing from his mind.

His parents were gone. Ichiru was gone. Shizuka Hio was gone. Yuki was gone. Kaname was gone. And now Zero Kiryu, hunter, ex-human, and vampire was gone. He didn't know the person who had taken his place.

He wasn't Zero Kiryu anymore. He was a guy living inexplicably in Seto Kaiba's mansion, and that thought gave him a weird, flying sense of relief. Zero Kiryu had been a broken man, too crippled by grief to even realize that the air could actually _smell_ like a season.

The man who wasn't Zero Kiryu was sitting on the back porch, arms wrapped around his knees to guard against the chilly wind, when Kaiba took a seat beside him. Zero smelled cigarette smoke and closed his eyes, inhaling. The smoke mixed with the cold air and filled his lungs. It was weirdly soothing.

"Smoking kills," he said vaguely.

Kaiba snorted. "I'll take my chances." He turned up the collar of his coat and tucked his hands into his pockets. "It's freezing out here. Why don't you have a coat?"

Zero shrugged, noncommittal. "I like the cold."

The older man looked sideways at the vampire, frowning a little. Zero's nose and cheeks were tinged pink with cold, and the wind ruffled through his hair, blowing it around his eyes. He was wearing a thin black hoodie and old, worn jeans; Mokuba had shot up over the last few years, and his clothes fit the hunter nicely enough.

That being said, Kiryu looked sort of…cute. Like an abandoned puppy. Kaiba grimaced at that thought, running a hand distractedly through his hair, taking a deep drag on the cigarette. He'd had more than enough of puppies to last him a lifetime.

"So," he said at length, suddenly uncomfortable with the silence, "vampires are real."

"You're kidding," Zero supplied sarcastically, rolling his eyes skyward.

"How long have you been one?"

"A long time."

"How long is that?"

Zero sighed heavily, scowling at his sneaker-clad toes. "Since I was twelve."

A moment of silence followed his mutter, and he lifted his head cautiously to find Kaiba staring at him intently. Their eyes met, and Zero felt his breath catch. He ducked his gaze again, thanking providence that the sting of the wind would explain the tinge of pink that colored his face.

"Have you ever killed someone?" Zero asked quietly, resting his chin on his knees.

Another long pause, and then Zero saw Kaiba nod out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah."

The vampire hesitated, then pressed a little more. "Did you regret it?"

"No."

The finality in that statement chilled Zero to his core, more than any amount of wind ever would. He shivered and hunched in on himself a little more tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. The wind carried the scent of smoke toward him.

"Why do you ask?" Kaiba inquired at length, looking at Zero again, quirking a grin. "That's not exactly a first date-friendly question."

"Screw off." Zero scuffed his toe against the grass, opening his eyes. There was a trail of ants in a bare patch of dirt nearby, carting crumbs back to their little ant families. "I've killed before, too. That's all."

"Vampires, though."

"…Well, yeah."

Kaiba snorted, looking out across the spacious grounds of his mansion, shaking his head a little. "I think that's different from killing a human being."

"I think so, too." Zero closed his eyes again. "I am sorry about biting you. I don't like biting people. It makes me feel less human."

"Yeah? I would imagine it makes you feel more human."

Zero looked at him, scowling. "How the hell is _biting_ people supposed to make—"

Kaiba interrupted him—he removed his cigarette, holding it in one hand, and leaned over, so close that his nose just brushed Zero's as he leant down, and Zero's skin exploded in goosebumps when he felt teeth tease the skin of his neck. He jerked away, a hot blush spreading across his cheeks, and glared at Kaiba's grinning face.

"There, now we're even," Kaiba snorted, placing his cigarette back in his mouth and getting to his feet. "Bet you're feeling awfully human now, hm?"

He threw Zero a smirk over his shoulder and retreated back into the house. Zero sat still and silent long after the door had closed, trying to still his racing heart, cursing with every ounce of his being the enigmatic, unpredictable asshole that was Seto Kaiba.

* * *

"Zero, what do you want for dinner?"

Zero shifted uncomfortably under the teenager's earnest gaze, shrugging one shoulder. "Dunno. Whatever."

Mokuba sighed, putting his feet up on the table, wiggling his toes as he perused the many menus spread out in front of him. "I'm kinda feeling Indian tonight. You know? Something that'll make my eyes water."

"You need look no further than your socks," Kaiba quipped, leaning away from the punch Mokuba threw at him, grinning. Mokuba rolled onto his back, setting his feet on Kaiba's shoulder and laughing openly when his brother tried to push him off the couch.

"You guys normally order out?" Zero asked skeptically. "You're loaded, why not hire someone to cook for you?"

"We have a part-time guy. His wife's having a baby, so he took a few weeks' leave to get ready," Mokuba explained, settling his feet on the floor. "Can you cook, Zero?"

Well, it wasn't as if Cross or Yuki had ever known what the hell to do with a kitchen. Zero had been in charge of preparing meals ever since he'd been well enough to, following the aftermath of Shizuka Hio's brutal attack. He hadn't even realized he'd had a knack for it before he'd been the first in the little family to figure out how to use a rice cooker.

"I can. A little."

"A little is better than what we've got!" Mokuba laughed. "You should see Seto try—it's _horrific_."

"I had to have at least one flaw."

"Everybody's laughing, jackass."

"Is the kitchen stocked?" Zero asked, getting to his feet. "I'll make something."

"Yeah, there's stuff in it," Mokuba said enthusiastically. "Hey, want help?"

"Nah. Go do your homework or something."

Mokuba snorted, throwing himself back down on the couch. "That's a fruitless endeavor if I ever heard one."

Zero got to his feet and left the room. Mokuba tracked him, waiting until he was out of earshot before turning, grinning, on his older brother.

"...Yes?" Seto said uncomfortably, leaning away from his brother's prying gaze. "_What?_"

"You like him."

"Sorry?"

"Zero. He shows up out of nowhere, he didn't go to your school, he's not a duelist, you met him randomly and then you bring him home, which you wouldn't even do with Joey until you guys had been together for three months, so the only thing I figure is that you _like_ this guy."

Seto stared at his little brother, bewildered, and then his gaze hardened. "You're crazy," he said flatly. "The guy needed a place to stay."

"There're hotels."

"He doesn't have any money."

"Oh, well then, in _that_ case..."

"Mokuba, don't do this," Seto warned, picking up the newspaper and opening it loudly, as if that would end the conversation. Mokuba just grinned all the more widely.

"Have you slept with him yet?"

"What makes you think I want my little brother asking about my sex life?"

"You're right, if you guys were fooling around I'd have realized it by now. You couldn't hide it from me."

Seto arched an eyebrow. "Oh? You think not?"

"I knew the second you and Joey got together. What makes you think this time will be any different?"

"Because there isn't going to be a 'this time,'" Seto answered flatly. He thanked the gods that Mokuba didn't know about the whole biting incident. If his little brother knew that Seto had let Zero into their home in spite of that, he'd _never_ hear the end of it. The whole thing would go from simple attraction to love at first sight in Mokuba's energetic mind. "He's staying for a while, until he gets his shit together. That's it."

"Uh-huh."

"That's _it_!"

"Go talk to him," Mokuba laughed, picking up the television remote and hitting the power button. "You know you want to. And I'm just going to sit here, innocently, and pretend I know nothing about my dear niisama and all the hijinks he gets up to."

Seto sat still for a moment, summoning all of the willpower he possessed-but then he cursed, got to his feet, and ruffled Mokuba's hair on his way to the kitchen.

Kiryu's ass had just looked too good walking out the door to _not_ follow, damn him.

* * *

Zero hid a smile as he walked into the kitchen. He _tolerated_ Kaiba, albeit just barely, but he liked the jerk's kid brother. Mokuba was friendly and easy-going, eternally nonplussed and not likely to allow anything to get him upset. He liked nothing more than video games and junk food and spending time with girls—a perfectly normal teenager. Maybe that was why Zero was drawn to him. He'd never been a normal teenager himself, and Kaiba obviously hadn't either.

_He wants his little brother to have a normal life._ He supposed that said something for the guy, even if he was an ass in every other respect.

The first thing he was inclined toward was the huge bag of rice sitting virtually untouched in the pantry. Thinking about the last time he'd made curry—Yuki had eaten so much she'd nearly been sick—he carried it into the kitchen, placing it on the counter and making his way around, looking for the necessary pots and pans.

"Thanks for this."

Zero felt a shiver crawl the length of his spine at the low, sultry baritone from the doorway. He shrugged it off. "It's just cooking."

Kaiba shifted his weight, leaning casually against the doorframe. "You did all the cooking back home, huh?"

"Yeah. Only because no one else could."

"Mm. That's a valuable skill for a man to have." Kaiba was quiet for a moment, watching Zero move about the kitchen. "My dad liked cooking," he confessed.

Zero paused, measuring cup full of rice in hand. He poured it slowly into the pot on the stove, refusing to meet the dark blue eyes he could distinctly feel boring holes into the back of his head. "That's cool. He doesn't like it anymore?"

"He's dead," Kaiba replied, as nonchalantly as if they were discussing the weather.

A long, heavy pause. Zero set down the measuring cup, turning to face the other young man. Kaiba's gaze was cool, but there was something dark lurking in the pools of his eyes.

_Those eyes._

"How?" Zero asked quietly.

"It was a car accident," Kaiba answered. "Nothing more. Nothing strange or out of the ordinary. Just momentum and bad timing."

"What about your mom?"

Something hardened in Kaiba's gaze. "She died giving birth to Mokuba. That was before. My father raised us by himself after that. He passed when I was ten."

He stepped into the kitchen, pulling out a chair and seating himself. Zero felt his face growing hot again, and turned hurriedly back to the stove. Shit, how much rice had he added? He dumped in another cup full and turned on the heat.

"What about your parents, Kiryu?"

"…They died, too."

"How long ago?"

"I was twelve."

The silences between them were getting almost painful. Zero set down the measuring cup, his pulse pounding in his ears. He didn't want to have this conversation with a virtual stranger. He didn't know why Kaiba's presence made him open his mouth and spill his innermost secrets.

"You became a vampire and your parents died. In the same year?"

"Yeah."

"…Those events aren't at all unrelated, are they?"

"No." The blush was at his ears now. They were burning. Zero pulled the curry mix down from a top shelf, cursing to himself. He'd forgotten to prepare meat. He opened up the fridge, hunting around. There wasn't a lot to be had. The Kaiba boys really did just go day by day.

He heard the scrape of chair legs on the tiled floor, but he refused to react. _Don't give in._ He felt body heat close to his, and he dedicated himself to shifting aside frozen goods with renewed vigor.

"Kiryu."

A hand closed on his wrist, and Zero paused. He was far stronger than an average human, and could have pulled away with ease, but something deep-rooted in his chest stopped him. He allowed himself to be turned around and pressed into the wall. With slow, practiced movements, Kaiba pinned Zero's hands to the wall, holding his wrists tightly. His gaze was hard, piercing, and Zero felt flames kindle in his lower abdomen.

"Who _are_ you?" Seto Kaiba asked quietly, his eyes intent on the other man's.

Zero shook his head slowly, at a loss for words. "I…I don't know."

"_What_ are you?"

"I don't know!"

Kaiba went quiet, searching Zero's eyes, a frown furrowing his brow. His gaze shifted to Zero's wrist, captured in his hand, and he quirked a hard grin.

"Quite the pulse there, Kiryu."

Zero blushed furiously, turning his face away. "Shut up. And let me go, what is this, an interrogation?"

"You tell me."

"Sure as hell _feels_ like one. If it bothers you not knowing my story, I'll leave, but—"

"No," Kaiba broke in, a little too quickly, and he cursed himself when Zero gave him a curious look. "There's…no need." He released Zero's wrists, and the vampire felt a little twinge of disappointment when he stepped away, running a hand through his hair. "We all have our secrets. I get that."

"Yeah," Zero agreed dryly, "but yours don't entail drinking blood and monsters."

Kaiba chuckled. "No, they don't. Well. Not the blood consumption, anyway."

Zero quirked an eyebrow upward. "Tangled with monsters like me, have you?"

"No. Not monsters like _you_, per se." Zero was starting to hate Seto Kaiba's smile. It made his face feel hot, made his stomach flutter, made his lower abdomen stir uncomfortably. "Give a shout when the food's ready. I'm starving."

"Yeah, sure," Zero replied, as close to a noncommittal grunt as he could get when he wanted nothing more than to rip Kaiba's shirt off and bury his fangs in his neck. And then rip his pants off and let him bury something else somewhere else. "Give me an hour."

"Done." Kaiba made for the door, had looked ready to leave, but he turned his head before he left to grin at Zero over his shoulder. "And, hey—at ease, soldier."

Zero made a face. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Kaiba arched an eyebrow, nodding downward toward the enticing junction of Zero's legs. "You've been saluting me for about five minutes now."

Zero felt his face grow so hot that crawling into the oven could only cool him down. He spun away from Kaiba, covering his ears to hide the blush, and cursed the asshole laughing his way out the door.

* * *

**Short chapters are really short.**

**There you go. Pretty bishounens living under the same roof can only result in sexual tension, I'd wager. Also I like being crude.**


	5. Fer Sure

**Warning: Language and lime ahead.**

**This thing is writing itself.**

* * *

_Pulled up at a stoplight,_

_did drugs on the dashboard,_

_look at the mess we made tonight._

_Kick off your stilettos, kick off your stilettos,_

_And__ fuck me in the back seat,_

_Fuck me in the backseat._

_-The Medic Droid_

* * *

Zero liked the way the sun rose over Domino. He liked the way the city woke, the way kids ran to school, chasing one another until they were all laughing and breathless. He liked the casual crawl of traffic, and the men and women in suits, rubbing their eyes with one hand and carting coffee with the other. There was a special energy in the town, something that the little village below Cross Academy had lacked.

Every morning, Zero would push open the window and rest his arms on the sill, watching Domino awaken across the grounds. He'd get a half hour or so of peace and quiet, and then the downstairs would explode in a flurry of activity.

"Niisan, have you seen my bag?!"

"It's on the table."

"Have you seen my textbook?"

"It's _under_ the table. And you left your laptop in my office, and your paper between the couch cushions. Your uniform's in the laundry room, your good sneakers are on my bedroom floor, and your bike is on the lawn."

Zero smiled as he made his way across the top floor. Kaiba's bedroom was just a few doors down from his, and the hunter figured he'd make the younger Kaiba's morning a little easier and grab his shoes for him.

It didn't occur to him that he was in Kaiba's bedroom until he already had a hand around the white sneaker nearest the door. Zero paused and straightened slowly, his ears reddening as he stole a look around the room. It was fastidiously neat, which he expected. The bed was still unmade, but there was no clutter on the floor, and the desk in the corner was well organized. The only disorder to be seen was the sweater thrown casually at the foot of the bed.

_Don't do it,_ Zero's mind urged him, but his feet propelled him forward. He bent down and lifted the sweater, almost cradling it for a moment before bringing it to his face and inhaling deeply. The dark blue knit must have been itchy at one point, but it had been worn and used so well that it was now soft as down. Zero imagined Kaiba stepping into the dark room, stifling a yawn, pulling the sweater over his head. It would have tugged at his shirt beneath, revealing his abdomen and hips before he climbed into bed, kicking off his pants as he went…

Zero's ears were on fire. He dropped the sweater, retrieved Mokuba's other shoe, and beat a hasty retreat.

The teen was simultaneously finishing homework and stuffing his mouth full of toast when Zero came into the kitchen. Mokuba mumbled what Zero suspected was a greeting, gulping down a glass of orange juice as he struggled into his blue blazer.

"Office right after school," Kaiba reminded him from the sink. Zero's heart jumped when their eyes met briefly, and looked away pointedly when Kaiba grinned at him. He looked better rested than Zero had seen him in a while—he wasn't as pale, and the circles under his eyes weren't nearly so dark. His hair was tousled and messy from sleep, and he hadn't yet bothered to change into clothes. His long legs were covered by blue plaid pajama bottoms, and a tight black t-shirt clung to his torso.

_Nice_. Zero had spent months trying to convince Kaname to get comfortable in casual clothing. There was something incredibly hot about seeing a powerful man dressed like a normal human being. Kaiba certainly pulled it off; doing dishes in his pajamas, he actually looked his age.

"West office or east?" Mokuba was asking, pulling on his shoes after gratefully taking them from Zero. "And who are we meeting again?"

"East. And it's some idiot from I-Squared. You don't need a suit, just come in your uniform."

"What are we gonna tell him?"

"To get the hell off our property."

Mokuba laughed, catching his keys as his brother tossed them. "That's what we do best. Later, bro—see ya, Zero."

"Drive carefully, kid."

"You, too," Mokuba called over his shoulder as he stepped out the door. It closed behind him, and suddenly Zero and Kaiba were alone in the kitchen together.

Again.

"Hungry?" Kaiba inquired casually, turning back to the sink.

"Gourmet toast this morning? Real taste of the upper class?"

"You're hilarious. I am capable of making breakfast food, as it happens, and Mokuba considers it palatable."

"Kids his age will eat anything you put in front of them."

Kaiba snorted. "True." He paused, drying his hands, eyeing the shifty hunter hovering awkwardly by the table. "Or," he ventured, trying his hardest to sound nonchalant, "we could go out to eat."

Zero looked at him, lifting an eyebrow. "Like a date?"

That grin, that stupid smarmy, sexy grin. "Interested, are you?"

"Fuck you."

Kaiba shrugged. "If you want."

"You're buying."

"Fine by me."

"I'm gonna go change," Zero said tartly, turning to go up the stairs. He heard a creak, and turned his head to see Kaiba just behind him. "Dude, don't follow me."

"My room is upstairs," Kaiba reminded him, tapping a finger against his temple. "You're the smart one in the family, are you?"

Zero's cheeks flamed, and he took the rest of the stairs three at a time and darted into his room before Kaiba could get too close. He changed at hyper speed, then dropped and hammered out push-ups to cool his nerves until his arms felt like jelly. Jumping back up, he opened up the door in time to see Kaiba heading down the stairs—pulling on the sweater Zero had been unashamedly smelling earlier. The hunter felt his stomach drop.

Today was going to suck.

* * *

Zero wasn't sure what he was expecting. He'd never heard of a ritzy, up-scale restaurant serving breakfast, but he couldn't see Seto Kaiba hitting up an IHOP, either. So he sat quietly in the passenger seat of the red sportscar as it weaved through the eight a.m. traffic and tried not to feel too uncomfortable.

"Why aren't you wearing a suit?" he asked, when the silence got too oppressive for him to handle.

Kaiba glanced sideways at him, lifting one graceful eyebrow. "Why would I wear a suit out to breakfast?"

"Isn't that what rich, snobby guys do?"

A pause, and then Kaiba suddenly laughed. "I don't know, is it?"

_That's what Kaname always did._ But then, Kaname had been expected to be flawless, with every breath, at every moment. He couldn't show his face in public in a knit sweater and old jeans. He was a king, a pureblood of the highest lineage. He had only taken down his walls in front of Zero. Even Yuki hadn't known the Kaname who had lain in Zero's arms at night.

If Seto noticed Zero's sudden lapse in energy, he didn't mention it. He knew all too well what it was like to slip into nostalgia, to suddenly be overtaken by painful memories. When Zero's eyes unfocused and his head turned toward the window, Seto let him be.

The place they pulled up to wasn't on Zero's list of likely breakfast hotspots for a man like Seto Kaiba. It was very out of the way, tucked behind a shopping center and a hardware store and almost out of sight from the main road. There were only two other cars in the lot when they pulled up.

"Want me to open your door for you?" Kaiba asked, his tone light and teasing, his eyes all but sparkling with mischief. Zero shivered internally, but kept his face pressed into a scowl as he opened his own door.

The walls of the place were painted a bright, merry blue, with a traditional Japanese roof and pillars holding up the overhang. Though a neon 'Open' sign flashed in the window, a scroll was plastered beneath it with _Hibiki's_ _Café_ written in kanji. It was a weird mesh of the modern and the old, and something about it set Zero at ease.

A bell tinkled cheerfully when Kaiba pushed the door open, holding it for Zero and ignoring the glare he got in return. A short, rounded woman was leaning at an old wooden podium, eyes narrowed behind her glasses as she looked at a clipboard. She looked up at the sound of the bell, and all at once her severe face brightened into a wide smile.

"Seto-kun! Welcome back, child, it's been weeks since we saw you last! Where's Mokuba today?"

"School, believe it or not," Kaiba replied, bending down and letting the old woman kiss him on the cheek—Zero swallowed a laugh so fast it almost hurt. "It's just my friend and me today."

"Why don't you come with that blonde boy anymore?" the old woman asked as she bustled back to the podium, retrieving two fraying menus and ushering them toward a table. There was another couple in the back, holding hands while they ate their pancakes, looking at one another with sweet eyes—whether from love or from the syrup, Zero couldn't tell. "He was so cute."

"He's just been busy lately," Kaiba replied mildly, offering her a smile when she looked at him suspiciously.

"I'm sure," she huffed, pulling a notepad out from her apron and shaking her head. "Say what you want, child, I know you. You're a heartbreaker."

"I do what I can." He handed her back both menus. "Whatever the special is, Kyoko-san, for both of us. And coffee. Lots of it."

Zero swallowed his irritation at being ordered for—the old woman looked ecstatic as she hurried back to the kitchen.

"So," the hunter said leisurely, and Kaiba grimaced. "_Seto-kun_, huh?"

"Call me that and I will kill you," Kaiba replied, glaring at him.

"Only nice to old ladies, hm?"

"Shut it. She and her husband Toru were friends of my father. They knew me when I was little, before my stepfather took me away from Domino."

"Oh." Great, now he felt like a bit of a jerk. The old woman was family to the Kaiba boys.

"She and Toru even wanted to adopt us, after my father died," Kaiba went on thoughtfully, picking up his chopsticks and twirling them between his fingers. "The courts ruled in favor of my aunt and uncle, unfortunately. Fat lot of good _that_ did us."

"An older couple wanting to adopt two kids? That's pretty impressive."

"They did have a son," Kaiba said, his voice quieting. "He died of aggressive leukemia when he was still a relatively young man. They left Hiroshima and came to Domino afterward, and met my father—" Kaiba paused, and shook his head. "Anyway. Old friends. Excuse me for a second, will you?"

Zero frowned. "Where are you going?"

"To take a piss, if you must know," Kaiba replied flatly, flashing him a grin. "Want to come? The door locks."

"Fuck you."

"If you want."

"Shut the hell up."

Kaiba left, laughing, leaving Zero to brood silently until Kyoko brought a pot of coffee to the table. She poured him a steaming mug and then proceeded to top it with whipped cream. She was shaking out cinnamon on it when she spoke suddenly.

"You're his new boyfriend, then?"

Zero jerked as if shocked. "Er, no. I'm just crashing with him."

"That so," she chuckled, her dark eyes twinkling. "Well, regardless, you be good to him. The husband and I love that boy like he was ours. He may as well be. He should have been, if it weren't for that witch that calls herself his aunt."

"I'm sorry," Zero replied, immensely uncomfortable. "I won't cause him any trouble." _Like putting him in the hospital. At least, not twice._

Kyoko patted him on the shoulder with a soft hand. "Just be a good friend to him, if nothing else. He hasn't been the same since he and that other young man stopped seeing one another. But he's smiling with you, so you must be good for him."

Zero seriously doubted that, but he offered her a weak smile, and she returned to the kitchen. Kaiba returned a minute later, pouring himself a cup of coffee with an audible sigh of relief.

"That good, huh?" Zero snorted, lifting an eyebrow as Kaiba all but drained his first cup.

"You need blood to survive," Kaiba replied smartly, "I need caffeine. We all have our vices."

"Don't talk about that in public," Zero hissed, looking anxiously toward the dewy-eyed couple in the corner. "You never know who's listening…"

"You told me you killed the last rabid—thing," Kaiba said, lifting an eyebrow over the rim of his coffee mug.

"I did. But the Society has ears everywhere. If they knew I'd exposed you to our world…"

"They'd, what, kill you?" Kaiba snorted.

"No. They'd take me into custody. They'd probably kill you, though."

"…Are you shitting me?"

"People who know are a liability. If anyone finds out about—_them_—the world will fall into hysteria. It'd be war."

"Chirst, Kiryu, thanks," Kaiba growled, mock-toasting the hunter. Zero didn't have time to throw back a caustic remark when Kyoko returned, carrying two trays laden with more food than Zero had had in months.

"I said the special, not the whole menu," Kaiba said, laughing as she sat down the trays in front of them. Zero's mouth watered. When was the last time he had a Belgian waffle?

"You're too skinny, child, you always have been," she chided. "That goes for your friend, too. Eat up, the both of you. When I was a girl, we weren't allowed to leave the table until we cleared our plates, you know."

"When was that? The Meiji era?"

She smacked him on the back of the head with her notepad and left with one last parting reminder to eat up. Kaiba grinned, starting on a shortstack while powering up his phone. When he looked up from his email, it was to see Zero all but buried behind a tower of Belgian waffles. He was meticulously covering them with strawberries from a bowl and adding layer after layer of whipped cream and syrup.

"That's positively majestic," Kaiba commented, smirking at the scowl he got in reply.

"Shut up. My mom used to make these for me and my brother all the time. We competed to see who could get the tallest stack."

Seto looked at him—well, looked at the fringes of silver hair he saw peeking around the edges of the leaning tower of delicious. "You didn't tell me you had a brother."

"You didn't ask."

"Is he a vampire, too?"

"He's gone."

"Gone as in…?"

"He's dead," Zero said shortly, peering around the stack to glare at the other man. "Okay? Now quit asking me questions. Eat your food."

* * *

Zero felt full and warm and unusually pleasant when they left. Kyoko kissed Kaiba on the cheek again, and surprised Zero with a full body hug while an old man—presumably Toru—shouted farewells from the kitchen. The hunter sank into the passenger seat of the sportscar, fully intent on napping on the way back to the mansion.

"Chilly," Kaiba commented casually as he started the car, checking his watch. "Still early, too. It'll be a cold one."

"Mm," Zero answered noncommittally, leaning his head against the window and closing his eyes. The rumble of tires on poorly paved road was already lulling him to sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he'd dozed off with a full belly…

"_Full already, Zero?" Kaname commented, just the hints of a smile playing around his lips as Zero sat back in his chair. Zero glared, but found it difficult to stay irritated with his lover. Kaname looked particularly splendid, the dark of his suit soaking up the light cast by the candle on the table between them. His eyes were pools of black fire, making Zero shift in his seat. He could see the glint of Kaname's fangs when the pureblood smiled at him, and it made him shiver. He knew exactly where he wanted those fangs…_

"_I need to use the restroom," he said, his voice sounding like it didn't belong in his body. He got up from his seat, making wide strides to the back of the restaurant. No sooner had he opened the door than a hand caught it, and Kaname pushed him bodily into a stall, already pulling apart his dress shirt, heedless of the buttons that scattered on the floor._

_Zero's back hit the wall, and he tipped his head back, gasping as Kaname's tongue laved the side of his neck. Fangs brushed the tender flesh and then sank in deeply. Red blood stained the collar of Zero's shirt, but he was gone to the pleasure, tangling his hands in Kaname's hair and whimpering as the pureblood drank. Kaname's hand cupped him between the legs, rubbing him, arousing him, and Zero released a breathy sigh before Kaname's bloody lips claimed his in a hard, needy kiss…_

He awoke with a start, his face plastered against the window, sweat beading at the back of his neck. It was dark; it took him a moment to realize that the car was in a parking garage. It was running, the heat up, but Kaiba wasn't in the driver's seat. Zero looked at the ignition—keys still present. It would be so easy to shift sideways, shift it into gear, and run for it, get out of this town and make a break for the sea. He could board a ship and head for Europe, or America, somewhere he could slip away, get under the Society's radar…

The car door opened, and Kaiba settled himself back in the drivers' seat, running a hand through his hair as he shuffled through a pile of papers in his lap.

"I'm switching banks," he muttered irritably to himself, shaking his head. "I can't put up with this crap anymore… Got a broker you'd recommend, Kir—"

He broke off with a yelp as his seat was abruptly leant backwards, leaving him lying on his back in bewilderment as Zero leaned over him.

"Kiryu—what the—" He made to sit up, only to be pushed back by a strong hand on his chest. "Hey—"

Zero wasn't listening to his protests—he wasn't even hearing them. He grabbed hold of the hem of that dark blue sweater, pushing it slowly up his captive's abdomen. He felt the recoil of the flesh and muscle he revealed as he slid it upwards, upwards, until he forced it over Kaiba's head.

"What the hell are you _doing_?!"

"Shut up," Zero growled roughly, leaning down and pressing his mouth to the soft skin at the juncture between Kaiba's shoulder and neck. His captive stiffened but fell silent. Zero felt the muscles tightening, felt the pulse increase, heard the rush of hot blood. His tongue explored the warm skin, seeking the eager pounding of the artery buried within. Kaiba squirmed, gritting his teeth when Zero forced a knee between his legs.

"Whoa, whoa—cut it—"

Zero opened his mouth and bit down, ignoring the shout he earned. The taste of blood filled his mouth, filled his head and made his vision go white. He drank eagerly, relishing the heady scent and taste, the sensations of another's blood entering his own body. He coped with the memories that came rushing to him, memories that weren't his own—a baby with black hair, giggling and waving his arms up at him—a girl with long white hair, running his hands through it, noting the pink tinge of her cheeks as he pulled her in to kiss her—the blonde he'd seen in the hospital, straddling his hips, rocking against him, cradling his face, a ragged whisper of _"Seto"_ in his ear—

The hunter-turned-vampire broke away with the force of iron will, gasping, bringing a shaking hand to his mouth. There was blood smeared on the seat, on the blue sweater, on his mouth, on the pale skin of Kaiba's neck and shoulder. He was panting, but he was conscious—and lucid, based on the way he was glaring at Zero.

"Sorry," Zero gasped breathlessly, shaking his head, half in denial at what he'd done. _Again_. "I'm sorry, I didn't—I was dreaming, and—"

"Look," Kaiba growled, clasping a hand to the side of his neck and sitting up with some difficulty, "if you _have_ to do that to survive, I don't mind, but Christ, Kiryu, a little _warning_ would be nice."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you're—wait. You _don't_ mind?"

"No, I don't," Kaiba snapped, looking down at his hand and frowning at the red. "Ah, shit."

"Here." Zero caught his wrist and drew him closer, shaking his head when Kaiba resisted. "I'm not going to bite you again, I swear."

"Then what are you—"

Zero moved in, opening his mouth again and gently licking at the wound he'd made. Kaiba stiffened, but didn't pull away. Relaxing, Zero shifted closer, tilting his head to get a better angle. The proximity to the other man made his head swim—but it wasn't his hunger for blood this time. The blood in his body wasn't rushing to his head, but rather more southward…

The movement of his tongue slowed, and then stopped entirely, but Zero didn't move away. He meant to explain that purebloods had healing abilities, that after drinking from Kaname for so long he'd been able to do the same, to a lesser extent, but instead Zero sat there in silence, his lips just brushing Kaiba's neck. Neither spoke. Zero waffled in that moment, wanting to see where this was about to lead, _wanting_ something to happen, but scared to death that his advance might be spurned—

And then, a touch, right where he wanted it most. A warm hand settled over his need, caressing the bulge beginning to show through his trousers. Zero drew back, startled, and looked into Kaiba's eyes. But the other man didn't let him question—a hand wound into Zero's hair and pulled him in, and their lips meshed.

The vampire was so surprised that for a moment he made no move to kiss back. He felt warm lips playing at his, teasing, inviting, and teeth briefly caught his lower lip before Kaiba drew back, frowning a little.

"No," Zero blurted suddenly, seizing a handful of brown hair. "No—don't—"

A chuckle, low and enticing, and then Zero was pulled in again, this time over the middle console and into the other man's lap. That sinful hand was between his legs again, rubbing him, and Zero almost lost the plot entirely when Kaiba's mouth opened under his. The other hand was undoing the buttons of his borrowed shirt, sliding across his chest, teasing him gently.

Zero moaned, a sound low and raw in the back of his throat, and ducked his head, allowing a fang to graze the skin where he'd first bitten his new lover. He lapped eagerly at the trickle of blood that followed, only to have his chin grasped and his face turned back into a hungry kiss, but not before the blood and the memory had flooded Zero's mouth and mind.

_The white-haired girl looked shyly at him, took his hand in hers and pressed it to her stomach. He questioned her, but she shushed him, holding him there, and when realization dawned on him, she smiled shakily at him, her eyes full of tears._

"_Mine," he said weakly, his voice hardly above a whisper._

_She nodded._

"_Yours."_

Zero broke the kiss with a shuddering gasp, his heart like a jackhammer in his chest. He and Kaiba both sat in silence, panting, smeared with blood and sweat, their shirts haphazardly clinging to their trembling bodies. Zero's mouth had more or less stopped the bleeding from his first bite, and Kaiba's face was flushed.

"Oh, shit," he muttered, dropping his head back against the seat and running a hand through his hair. "Dammit, Kiryu, what are we doing?"

"No idea," Zero replied weakly. He was still hard and aching against Kaiba's hand, his need pushing at the cloth of his jeans, but he chose not to bring it up. Glancing downward, he noted with some relief that he wasn't the only one suffering.

"Is that what usually happens?" Kaiba asked, smiling a little. One hand—not the one touching him intimately—lifted, and fingers strayed through Zero's hair. "When you bite someone."

"It always happened with Kaname," Zero admitted. "It's…intimate."

"Kaname." Kaiba looked at him, eyes searching his. "So he was your lover."

Shit. He'd purposefully neglected to bring Kaname up before now. "Yeah. He was." Just the thought of the nights he'd spent in Kaname's bed made him ache, and he shifted uncomfortably against Kaiba's hand.

"Damn," Kaiba muttered, lifting the seat up. It pushed he and Zero closer together, so close their foreheads nearly bumped. They paused, awkward in their new position.

"So," Zero ventured, "uh, now what?"

"Now what…hm." Kaiba quirked a grin, that hard grin that Zero both hated and loved. "Well. Whatever happens next, be it good or bad, it's probably best not done in a parking garage."

* * *

**Limey limes are limey.**

**Spur of the moment lime, to be sure, and maybe occurring a little faster than it needs to, but screw it. This is my baby and it can be as raunchy and unnecessary as it wants to be.**

**And that was definitely Seth's memory, not Seto's.**


	6. Closer

**I keep changing how I spell 'Kiryuu.' What's life without whimsy?**

**I actually like Rebecca. Go figure.**

**Many thanks to everyone who is reading this! I really appreciate the support for this wacky story!**

* * *

_Want to get closer, in too deep_

_Where there is something I wish for, I'll go through_

_Want to get closer into you..._

_Will I fall in the right direction?_

_-Lacuna Coil_

* * *

_What in the hell am I doing?_

Making coffee, for one. Sort of wishing it had some vodka in it. Or some sake. Throwing back iron supplements like they were candy, for another. He was supposed to take them with water; instead he crunched on them viciously with his back molars before swallowing more coffee.

Eating iron supplements _viciously_ was a feat only one Seto Kaiba could perform, and only when he was really irritated. He wished he had an employee or colorful-haired midget he could blame his foul mood on, but for the first time in awhile, he was mostly upset with _himself_.

He liked to think of himself as infallible. He knew he wasn't, not really, but he thought that anyway. He made a terrible boss, companion, friend, and boyfriend, but at least he was generally good enough for himself. Most days, that was all he needed.

But _this_ day…

_At least I didn't sleep with him._

_You did molest him in the car._

_Shut up, inner self. _

_Wait. Since when do I have an inner self?_

_It's called a conscience?_

_Oh, shitty._

He groaned, sinking his face into both hands. Why the hell had he gone and done that? True, Kiryuu had started it, with the whole blood-drinking episode, but why had it felt so _sexual_, and why had he freaking _encouraged_ it? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

If it was just a sex thing, that would be alright. That'd be kind of nice, even, having someone in bed with him in the morning. Easy, non-obligatory companionship. But something about Kiryuu pushed all of his buttons, intrigued him a little, made him want to dig deeper. And no one had made him want that since…since…

Seto's stomach twisted in on itself, and he dumped the rest of his mug of coffee and padded to the living room, feeling distinctly more riled up and irritable than he had a few moments earlier. He froze on the spot upon seeing Mokuba settled comfortably on the couch—and with his girlfriend under his arm, nonetheless.

"Hey, bro," the teenager said by way of greeting, lifting a hand. Said girlfriend waved. Rebecca Hawkins was only allowed around the mansion because she wasn't completely insufferable—she could banter with the best of them, and she was intelligent. And Mokuba liked her. So, there.

Seto grunted, throwing himself into his armchair and reaching for the paper. "Why aren't you at school?"

Mokuba lifted an eyebrow upwards. Just the one. It was a talent that ran in the family, it seemed. "It's, um, Saturday."

Oh, right. Damn Saturdays. His brother and free time were just _not_ a good mix. "You could still be studying, seeing as you're barely passing."

"I'm making him study later," Rebecca piped up, grinning widely at her boyfriend when he grimaced at her. "Anyway—heard _you_ had a date last night, Mr. Kaiba."

Seto threw his younger brother a glare. "It wasn't a date."

"Uh-huh."

"It _wasn't_."

"Uh-_huh_."

He threw the paper down a little more sharply than was absolutely necessary, suddenly no longer interested. "I'm going for a drive."

"Of course you are," Mokuba chuckled. "Take Kiryuu with you, he's entirely too reticent lately."

"You don't even know what 'reticent' means," Seto said wearily. Mokuba didn't argue, just snickered, motioning out the door, and Seto stalked out.

He hadn't really intended to stomp up the stairs, but then he was, not caring that he was in a tanktop and sweats and that his hair was a mess, sticking up at odd angles, looking a bit like he'd stuck his head out the window of a car at about seventy miles an hour. The only thing particularly on his mind was the knowledge that there was someone upstairs, someone he bizarrely and intensely wanted to see, someone he'd come very close to taking to bed with him…

The car ride home had been awkward, to say the least. Whatever heat had been between them dwindled quickly, and when they crossed the threshold into the house, it freaking _died_. They had stood in silence, both disheveled from a healthy amount of groping and mutual disrobing. Kiryuu had mumbled something resembling a farewell and stalked upstairs.

And that was it.

Seto didn't fancy himself a huge romantic, but even he knew that something more was supposed to go down after kissing and groping another person in a car. Oh, and especially after that person sucked on his neck and drank his blood. Maybe vampires just had different rules.

"Oy," he growled out, opening the door to the guest bedroom. "Kiryuu…"

Said vampire was not up yet, and didn't look as though he had any intention of being so any century soon. Zero was all but cocooned inside the blankets, a halo of silver hair peeking over the top of his nest, resting upon the pillow. He groaned upon hearing his name, curling a little tighter in on himself.

"Go 'way…"

"Get up," Seto sighed, walking into the room and grabbing a handful of blanket, attempting to pull it away. Zero growled, kicking out at him and pulling the blankets closer.

"I said, go _away_. I'm tired, asshole."

"I don't care. It's nearly noon, get out of bed. We're going for a drive."

"The hell we are!" Zero all but exploded from the bed, sitting up and glaring at his host. "What, so you can feel me up again?"

Seto's temper flared, in spite of the fact that Kiryuu, bare-chested, his hair mussed from sleep, his very interesting tattoo standing out brilliantly against his pale skin, was looking very appealing. "No, so you can latch onto my neck and take a nice long drink, you ravenous freak. Because we need to _talk_."

"About what?" Kiryuu demanded irritably, swinging his legs out of bed and reaching for his shirt. He'd toppled into bed in his jeans; hardly comfortable, but Seto wasn't one to talk—he'd fallen asleep in business suits, multiple times.

"About the terms of your staying here," Seto replied, feeling a little more smug when Zero looked briefly panicked. "I'm not kicking you out. But we obviously need to set some…boundaries."

For a moment, Kiryuu only looked at him, a thousand emotions flashing through those amethyst eyes—and then he nodded, slowly. "Okay."

A little startled by his complacence, Seto shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Uh. Yeah. So. Meet you downstairs."

"Um," Kiryuu said suddenly, getting to his feet. "Are you, uh, okay?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your anemia," Kiryuu pressed, his cheeks turning a very flattering shade of pink. "I, uh, bit you yesterday, so I was wondering…"

"Oh. Yeah, of course I'm okay." Seto rubbed the back of his neck, wincing when he grazed the fresh fang marks by the corner of his jaw, now subtly covered with a flesh-colored bandage. "I've lived with it all my life. I can handle it."

"You've never had anyone drink from you," Zero reminded him, sounding just a little guilty. _As he damn well should._ "That, uh, tends to complicate things."

Seto smirked. "My good health was getting boring anyway. Clothes, Kiryuu, fresh ones. Be downstairs in five."

"Yeah, yeah," Zero grumped sarcastically, rolling his eyes upwards, but he pushed himself out of bed and headed into the adjoining bathroom all the same. Seto lounged against the doorjamb for a moment, chewing on his lower lip, before turning and heading out the door, padding down the hallway toward his own room.

He and Zero were going to have to talk about this vampirism thing—about whatever was going on between them when Zero drank from him, about _why_ he was doing that to begin with, and about what was going to happen next.

It occurred to him, upon entering his room, that he had no idea what to wear. Taking a drive to discuss the ups and downs of living with a vampire didn't _quite_ qualify as a date, did it? Were he and Zero past the 'dating' stage, or had they never had a chance at getting there to begin with?

…Had he _wanted_ them to get there? He didn't know the guy. Not at all. Not really. Certainly not as much as he ought to, considering that Zero Kiryuu was a vampire. _And living in my house._ The same house as his beloved little brother, nonetheless. What in the _hell_ was he doing? Kiryuu had attacked him, put him in the hospital, _shown up in the hospital room_, and jumped all over him in the car yesterday. The whole situation should have had 'restraining order' written all over it, and yet…

Something in him, something very deep and very secret, was determined to keep Zero around, for reasons he couldn't even begin to explain. Just the sight of the guy put Seto a little more at ease, more at ease than he'd felt in months—more precisely, since Jou had left.

_Don't. Don't think about that_.

They were different, Jou and Zero—_Crap, why am I thinking about it?_—but they were similar, too. Kicked puppies, the both of them, in need of help, of someone to just be around for them. Jou _had_ been, in any case. As soon as he got back on his feet, his boyfriend had become an unnecessary headache, hadn't he?

_Don't do this to yourself. You know where it leads._

"Kiryuu," he shouted down the hallway, pulling on the first pair of trousers he found. "Anywhere you need to go?"

"Of course not," the younger man's irritated voice replied, echoing in the large hall. "Where would I need to go? Besides, don't you have important crap to do? Why am I getting dragged along to begin with?"

_He acts mistrustful, but he's coming, isn't he?_ "I was just being courteous, you brat." A plain black t-shirt, topped by a V-neck gray sweater. Still not as casual as maybe Mokuba would've liked, but it wasn't a suit, and it sure as hell didn't insinuate that there was anything more to this little outing than a trip into town.

"Fine, whatever. I'm ready."

Padded footsteps approached his room. Seto turned to see Zero hovering in the doorway—and froze. The young man standing before him now was a far cry from the wretch in a tattered coat he'd first dragged out of an alley. For the first time, Zero looked his age, clad simply in worn jeans (an old pair of Seto's, and therefore long enough to nearly cover his toes) and a blue plaid flannel. There was a strange expression on his face—something almost timid, as if he were waiting for approval, and the look was so eerily _familiar_ that Seto felt it as a physical pain behind his sternum.

"Hello?" Zero prompted, scowling a little, shuffling his weight from one foot to the other. "Are we going or what?"

"…Yeah," Seto said distantly, shaking himself and turning to his bedside table. On went his favorite watch—Christmas gift from Mokuba, who'd pointed out in exasperation that shopping for his brother was impossible, and that watches were clearly a cop-out gift—and he reached for his pendant, his treasured memento from a different time.

It was so odd to _not_ feel it in hand that for a moment, he didn't even realize it was gone. Another moment passed, then another—and in that short span, he went from feeling vaguely surprised to down right panicked.

"_Shit_," he breathed, dropping to the ground and peering under the bed, ignoring Zero's startled breath. "Shit! Dammit to all hell, where—?!"

"Where what?" Zero demanded irritably, bemused at the sight of the young CEO rummaging around like he was checking for monsters under the bed. "What are you looking for?"

"None of your business—look, get out, you're not helping—"

"Maybe if you'd _tell_ me what it is you're—"

"It's a necklace," Seto snapped, getting up and turning on the vampire. "A plain black cord, and the pendant on the end is—it's a card, but it's got a picture inside…"

Zero stared at him for a moment, and then his eyes widened. "Hold up a second." He turned on his heel and took off back down the hall, darting into his borrowed room. A moment passed, and then he returned, looking a little flushed, but pleased. "This?" he prompted, grinning, extending a hand.

He had it—the pendant, clean and unbroken, still on its little black cord. Seto released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, taking back his prized possession slowly, almost reverently. He slipped the cord over his head, cradling the pendant in his palm and clicking it open with a thumb, smiling unknowingly at the old photo within, unharmed.

"I, uh, found it in the alley," Zero said awkwardly, a little wary of breaking the odd silence that had fallen between them. "Where you found me, I mean. Er, while you were in the hospital. I would have given it back earlier, I just…sort of forgot about it."

"How did you know it was mine?" Seto asked quietly, tucking the pendant beneath his sweater, reassured by the familiar weight against his chest. Light, of course, but immensely more important than anything else in the world.

"The kid inside—it's Mokuba, yeah? When he was little. I didn't recognize him, at first."

"Yeah, well. He's grown." _We both have, since then._ "Kiryuu…thanks."

Zero scuffed a foot on the floor, and Seto could have sworn he saw a pink tinge on the boy's cheeks. "I wasn't trying to do you a favor or—or make you owe me one, or anything like that."

"I know. But thanks anyway." Seto tucked his hands into his pockets, feeling shy and awkward and hating every minute of it, but…some things just had to be done. "And, look, I'm…sorry. About yesterday, in the car. I'm not normally so…impulsive."

"It's not just you," Zero said quickly, lifting his hands and shaking his head. "Blood-drink is, uh…it's supposed to…feel good. It's pretty deep and…well, it's sexual. It was my bad, pushing that on you. I mean, we don't even know each other, and—"

"I got dumped."

"—Eh?"

Seto sighed, running a hand through his hair, shrugging one shoulder. "I was with a guy until recently. We hit a rough path a few months ago, and…I've been having some trouble since. It's been a while since I've really gotten along with anyone but Mokuba, and it was a little too easy to get caught up in—whatever this is. So vampirism and blood rituals aside, I'm sorry."

"Hey," Zero retorted, bristling, "it's not a _blood ritual_, it's—"

He broke off, startled by the arms that rested on his shoulders, the hands knitting together behind his neck, and Seto Kaiba's forehead touching his.

"_Kiryuu_. I'm messing with you. Just accept the damn apology, alright?"

"Uh—yeah. Sure. No problem."

"And the blood drinking thing. I meant it when I said I didn't mind. I don't know why I'm the one who found you, or why you're in the position you're in, but I get the feeling we're in this now. And I, for one, am not the sort of man to let business go unfinished."

Zero felt his face growing hot. Kaiba's eyes were mesmerizing, had been since the moment they'd first looked at one another, and the young hunter still found it impossible to look away once those sapphires settled on him.

"Me neither."

Seto smirked, tapping his forehead against Zero's, and then he pushed off, stretching widely as he walked past the hunter to head for the stairs.

"Then that's settled. Hurry along, vamp—we're still going for that drive."

* * *

Zero had felt comfortable in Domino City since he'd first arrived several days ago. Now that he was free of his duties as a hunter, and distanced from all the painful memories that went with it, he found he even liked the city. It wasn't as far from the mansion as Zero had originally thought; the expansive grounds Kaiba owned created an illusion of distance, but the energetic city was little more than a hop, skip, and a jump outside the gate.

Window rolled down, wind teasing his silver hair, Zero let himself take in the business district as Kaiba weaved easily through the morning traffic. There was an impressive amount of people heading to work on bikes, ties flapping up into helmeted faces as they raced along the widewalks, waving occasionally at passerby in cars. Kaiba had lifted a hand a few times, responding to hails, in between answering phone calls via Bluetooth. Zero was beginning to feel antsy just watching him, but then, he'd never been one for social interaction beyond hunting, and most conversations between hunters and vampires took place with bullets, not cell phones.

An acrid smell hit his overly sensitive nose, and Zero threw an exasperated look at his companion. "Smoking kills."

He'd been expecting an icy glare, but Kaiba shot him a rueful smile in answer as he took a deep drag off the cigarette.. "Not if the stress gets me first," he replied, purposefully exhaling in Zero's general direction and laughing when the vampire made a face. "Nicotine, booze, blood—we all have our vice."

"Yeah, yeah," Zero grumbled, waving a hand in the air to clear the smoke, grateful when Kaiba rolled down the driver-side window. "Where are we going?"

"I need to drop by the office," Kaiba sighed, running a hand through his hair and frowning at his reflection in the rearview mirror. He was looking rather tired and casual, his hair an untidy mess, hanging in his eyes; Zero would never admit it, but the look was sort of attractive. "One of our senior security officers quit recently to stay at home with his kids, and Roland's having trouble finding a replacement."

"Roland?" Zero questioned, putting his feet up on the dashboard and grinning at Kaiba's disapproving look.

"My head of security. Get your feet down, this car is expensive."

"Yeah? How expensive?"

"More expensive than my attorney's fee when I'm prosecuted for killing you. Feet _down_."

Zero swallowed a laugh, but couldn't smother his smile. He was feeling entirely too happy lately, and it was beginning to unnerve him. Maybe he was just giddy at the prospect of never having to hunt again, at not seeing himself in the eyes of every Level E he had to track down. Running from the Society was the best thing he ever did. It was like a vacation—a break from the hell his life had become. At least until Kaname's blood dwindled from his system, when he'd find himself on the other end of a hunter's gun.

"Damn!" he muttered, eyes widening at the sight of the building that came into view as they turned off of the main street. "_That's_ your building?!"

"Yeah," Kaiba replied, smirking, peering through the windshield to look at the immense corporate headquarters with a sort of manic pride. The megastructure, with its four intersecting glass towers and dramatic height, was easily one of Domino's most easily recognized landmarks, made even more memorable by the two stone dragons that guarded the entrance.

They parked in the front lot and disembarked, Kaiba yawning, hoisting his briefcase over his shoulder, and Zero trailing behind him, head tilted back and mouth slightly open as he stared up at the building.

"Here, boy," Kaiba drawled over his shoulder, answering Zero's glare with a smirk and beckoning him onwards. They ascended the stairs to the front door. "This'll only take a min—_shit_."

Zero peered around the other man, tongue in cheek. He expected a big ass, fancy corporation to run like clockwork—or to at least have a front lobby that wasn't full of very panicked-looking employees. A few people were shouting for order, but to no avail. A secretary was attempting to make a phone work at the front desk, and looking very much like she was going to throw it out the nearest window.

"Hey," Kaiba said, clearly annoyed. No one paid him any mind. "_Oy_." Zero saw the young CEO's shoulders rise, and jammed his fingers in his ears just in time to miss Kaiba's bellow.

"Everybody _**shut up**_!"

A middle-aged man holding an armload of files nearby threw them all in the air and raised his hands like he was being held up in a bank. Kaiba stared at him for one exasperated moment before turning back to the crowd.

"What. In the _hell_. Is going on here?" he demanded hotly. Zero could have sworn he heard teeth grinding. "I realize I have a lot of employees, but I'm still one hundred percent _positive_ I haven't hired _anyone_ to stand around in the lobby."

The room was very silent for a moment, and Zero took a second to appreciate how hilarious it was to see so many adults completely cowed and terrified by a youth half their age (and probably the same age as their own children), before a young woman working at the front desk timidly raised her hand.

"Sir," she said tentatively, "um, that is—none of the electronics are working."

"None of the—" Kaiba stared at her, dumbfounded. "The circuit boards passed inspection not even a week ago. How in the hell is _everything_ down? Computers? Elevators? The damn doors?"

"All of them, Boss," piped in the man who had dropped his files, his hands still raised over his head. "Even the pencil sharpeners."

Kaiba pressed a hand to his forehead, groaning. "Oh, God forbid the _pencil sharpeners_ stop working. None of this explains why half of my employees are sitting in the front lounge acting like scared children. Why didn't someone get down to the control room?"

"We tried, sir," another man replied. "The, uh—the bots chased us out."

"We tried to get into the lab, too," said the file guy. "But the doors were locked up tight."

"Bots? _Lab_?" Zero cut in with a whisper, jabbing Kaiba in the ribs. "What the hell kind of operation are you running here?"

But Kaiba ignored him—a look of realization was dawning on his face, though it was quickly replaced by something much more pained. "Damn," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. He pulled out his cell phone, hitting a number on his speed dial. Everyone in the room stood perfectly still and silent while he waited for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Mokuba," he said after a few seconds, rubbing the back of his neck. "I—oh, Roland called? Yeah, everything's out. Lab's locked—mmn, that's what I thought. I might need your help. Yeah—I'll wait out front. Thanks."

The phone returned to his pocket, and he turned back to his waiting employees.

"Good news," he said grumpily. "Take the day off."

* * *

The lobby cleared out faster than a theater on fire. Zero sat on the front desk, drinking an abandoned soda and watching—with some amusement—Kaiba pacing, agitated, back and forth.

"So," the hunter said lightly, finding that he was rather enjoying the show, "what's going on?"

"Family troubles," Kaiba muttered irritably. "Why don't you take a walk, Kiryuu?"

"What, and miss the show?" The glare he got in return for his quipped comment looked like something out of a slasher flick. "What took out your kingdom of corporate assholery?"

Zero was spared the assuredly caustic answer; a screech of tires and an alarming park job announced Mokuba's arrival. The teen jogged up the stairs, his blonde girlfriend on his heels.

"What's the story?" Mokuba asked, looking more serious than Zero had seen him thus far. The girl standing just behind him looked similarly solemn, brows furrowed. "Lockdown?"

"Yeah, and completely unscheduled. All electronics shut down, Vis running around harassing people," Kaiba replied.

Mokuba quirked a rueful smile. "Sounds like a temper tantrum."

"That's what I figured. I thought you should be the first person to go in."

"Gee, thanks," Mokuba snorted, rolling his eyes skyward.

"Well, he trusts you."

"Yeah, yeah." Mokuba tucked his hands in his pockets and strode toward the door behind the lobby, followed by his older brother.

Zero and the girl hovered for a moment, glancing at one another awkwardly. She was sort of pretty, for a younger girl; large blue eyes searched him curiously from behind black-rimmed glasses.

"I'm Rebecca," she offered after a moment. "I'm Mokuba's girlfriend."

"Uh. Zero. I'm Kaiba's…something."

"Another one?" she said, smiling widely, and trotted off after the brothers before Zero could question her. Frowning, he reluctantly followed.

Mokuba and Seto had jimmied the back door open and were standing in front of a huge set of double blast doors at the end of the long hallway by the time Zero and Rebecca caught up with them. Kaiba leant against the wall, arms folded over his chest, while Mokuba addressed a speaker by the door.

"Because we wanna talk, that's why," he was saying, frowning. "Come on, man, if you have a problem, just tell us, don't shut down the whole place down."

Zero jumped when something emerged from the wall—he'd thought it was a security camera, but it extended on a long mechanical arm and swiveled about, looking at each of them in turn, its glowing blue eye blinking on occasion. Then a voice sounded from the speaker, surly and youthful.

"_He can't come in."_

Kaiba scoffed, looking affronted, but Mokuba shot him a warning glare.

"That's cool. Just you and me, then."

There was a pause, and the camera abruptly zipped back into the wall, and the double doors opened just a crack. Mokuba kicked his brother in the shin when Seto stepped forward before disappearing into the lab. The doors snapped shut behind him.

"Dammit," Kaiba growled, rubbing his leg and glaring at the speaker. "It's like dealing with a ten-year-old."

"He _is_ a ten-year-old," Rebecca sighed, lifting an eyebrow. "Just because you grew up doesn't mean he did."

"Mokuba's not ten," Zero interjected, frowning, and got double exasperated looks for his input. If he didn't know better, he'd say Seto and Rebecca were related.

"Not Mokuba," Seto sighed, shaking his head. His hand was in his hair again—apparently it was a nervous tic, not primping. "Noah."

Zero wrinkled his nose. "Who?"

"He's a virtual personality," Seto said, waving a hand in an encompassing motion around the hallway. "He's in the computers, the bots, the network—a thinking mind and super-hub all in one."

The hunter stared. "Like Jarvis?"

Seto blinked, uncomprehending, and Rebecca muttered "From _Iron Man_."

"Oh. Um. Not quite. Noah's not a computer, he's—he _was_—a real person." Seto was looking distinctly uncomfortable, and Rebecca was making a face like she was searching for something to say that might change the topic. "All that's left of him is a virtual imprint of his mind and personality, and it only exists in the Kaiba Corp network."

Zero's stomach gave a funny jolt. "How does a ten-year-old kid's mind wind up inside a supercomputer?"

"Japan's leading virtual tech company is nothing if not resourceful," Rebecca answered; there was a look in Seto's eyes that suggested that he was done talking about the subject. The blonde smiled nervously at Zero and tried the door—when it gave a little, she slipped inside, leaving Zero alone with the sulking CEO.

The vampire chewed his lower lip, glancing up at the other man. He guessed that this was the sort of scene that would make the CEO's fan girls squeal. Between the rumpled gray sweater, heavy expression, and mussed hair, he was looking—dare he even think it—awfully cute.

"You want to talk about it?" Zero ventured at length, leaning his weight on the wall beside the other man, just close enough that their shoulders touched.

A long pause followed the soft inquiry, and then Seto sighed, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. "I don't know what I would say. It's a long story."

Zero shrugged. "I'm not busy."

Kaiba smiled faintly, and another silence indicated to Zero that the conversation was over before it could begin—but then Seto spoke again, quietly.

"Noah played in the road. Chased a dog or something. He was ten, just a dumb kid. He didn't know any better. Most parents tell their kids not to go running out in front of cars." The mop of brunet hair Zero had been staring at disappeared; Seto had slid down the wall to sit on the floor, arms hanging over his knees, his head down. Sensing a moment of real vulnerability, Zero opted to stay put. "What kind of father spends thousands of dollars hiring tutors and instructors to teach his kid chess and French and classical literature, and then doesn't think to teach him some damn common sense?"

Seto furrowed his brow, glaring at his own hands. "That was Gozaboro's _motus operandi_ from the get-go, I suppose. It didn't matter if the kid was his own, or one he plucked out of an orphanage on a bet, he only saw tools. Never people—never _children_."

Zero felt something then—a kind of pressure in his chest, something that almost choked off his words. Slowly, as if afraid of startling the other man, he sank to the floor, staring at the downcast blue eyes.

"My parents made me into a gun," he said softly. Seto looked at him, and the understanding there filled a hole in Zero that had been a part of him for years. It wasn't sympathy, but _empathy_. This was it—the weird thread that bound them together, that made them feel this inexplicable trust, was the sad story of their childhoods, the truth about the theft of their humanity, and the painful remnants the thieves had left behind. "My mom and dad loved me, I know they loved me, but…my brother and I were hunters first, and kids second. I was their son—and I was a trigger finger on the Bloody Rose. I may have been too young to understand some things, but I always got that. From the day I was born, my parents expected me to be a weapon."

He suddenly felt too unsteady for his own two feet, and he, too, slid to the floor, sitting against the wall with his legs splayed out into the hallway in front of him. Talking about his brief and often difficult childhood awakened a long subdued pain in his chest, and he had to swallow a few times before he could go on.

"Thing was, I was a really _good_ weapon. Good at everything. Gifted, the other hunters said. But my little brother…he was sick, and weaker than me. Everyone thought of him as a failure."

"You didn't," Kaiba said quietly, and Zero smiled faintly.

"No. I never did. He was my brother. He was my best friend. Ichiru was…" He trailed off for a moment, struggling to put the feeling into words. It had been awhile since he'd talked about his family; Kaname knew the whole story, and was wroth to dig up those painful memories, but it felt oddly nice to divulge to someone who might understand.

"Your other half," Kaiba supplied, smiling crookedly the way he did. "Your _better_ half, at that."

Zero looked at him, searching that piercing gaze, and for the first time didn't it find it sharp or intimidating—just insightful, watchful. "Yeah. Exactly. The only person in the world who had one hundred percent of my trust."

The brunet frowned, his brow furrowing. "Why the past tense?"

"Ichiru's gone," Zero said quietly, sinking a little further down the wall, pulling his knees to his chest. "Just like my mom and dad, and my foster sister, and…"

"…And Kaname?"

"Yeah. And Kaname." Saying his lover's name hurt, and though he knew it was childish, Zero buried his face in his forearms, swallowing his tears. He'd done his crying for his lost pureblood, in private, where _no one_ would see his abject grief. He felt foolish now, breaking down in front of someone he barely knew, but he wasn't sorry. He'd spent a long, long time being strong—his whole life, in fact. Sometimes even a man had to cry.

Seto didn't think it foolish. He'd had his share of meltdowns—maybe he'd never quite been pushed to tears, at least not since he'd been adopted by Gozaboro Kaiba, but mental breaks from reality were par for the course (mostly brought on by mystic relics from five thousand years ago, but that was another point entirely). He watched Zero quietly, without comment, offering neither ridicule nor comfort; he seriously doubted that Kiryuu wanted either from him. But watching the vampire cry stirred something in him. Empathy, mostly, because he knew the hurt that Zero was feeling, but…the sight also brought forth the weirdest sense of déjà vu he'd ever experienced. It went beyond that—it was triggering an entirely different sensory set altogether. He could feel slim shoulders beneath his arm, taste sand in his mouth, see the glare of the hot sun right before he pressed his face into colorless tresses and let his eyes fall closed.

"Is your hair dyed?" he asked abruptly.

Zero lifted his head, eyes rimmed with red, hastily wiping his cheeks. "What?"

"Your hair. That can't be your natural color."

"It is," Zero said glumly, scowling upwards at a few errant strands hanging in his eyes. "Among other things, hunters nearly always wind up with oddly colored hair. We're a unique breed, I sup—_what_?"

Kaiba was peering closely at him, looking positively baffled. Silver locks of hair framed his face, not white—and his eyes were amethysts, not sapphires. The same incredibly pale skin, though, and the same sense of quiet power, both attractive and intimidating. And fragility—the sense that this being was desperately in need of protection. _His_ protection. Seto had felt this before, though not in his twenty-one years of life, and that thought settled grimly in the back of his consciousness, promising wickedly to arise to torment him later.

"Nothing," he said uncomfortably, leaning back against the wall, sighing to himself. "I was just thinking out loud. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—change the topic, or…whatever."

"S'alright," Zero said somewhat thickly; he looked like he could use a tissue. "I'm ready to talk about something else."

"For what it's worth," Seto said, looking back at the younger man, a little startled, as always, by the intensity in Zero's gaze, "I'm sorry about your brother. I don't know how you survived it."

"Dunno either," the hunter murmured. "Kaname, mostly."

"So what's keeping you alive now?"

There followed a slightly tense silence. Zero mulled his answer around, thinking on it. It was a good question.

"Possibilities," he said at last. He'd never had them before, but that sapphire gaze made him wonder if maybe he had them now.

The moment—whatever sort it was—was interrupted by the opening of the double doors, and Mokuba stuck his head into the hallway. "You're up," he said grimly. "I can't make the concessions he wants, that's your authority."

"Of course it is," Seto sighed contemptuously, getting heavily to his feet. He offered Zero a hand, which the hunter took somewhat reluctantly, his cheeks turning nearly crimson.

"I'm not a girl," he huffed, but the young CEO merely smirked and beckoned him through the doors.

So this was where the magic happened, Zero thought amusedly as he stepped into Kaiba Corporations R&D lab. He was impressed; computers and crap like that were, as a rule, somewhat beyond him, but even he could tell there was high tech stuff going on in this room. The first indication was the robots—not the cyborgs he'd had in mind, but funny little pod-shaped things that zipped around underfoot and occasionally made indignant-sounding noises when they hit obstacles.

"_These_ were terrorizing your employees?" he snorted, kicking one over and watching with amusement while its little wheels spun helplessly, and it erupted in a flurry of bleeps.

"They're hell in an office space," Mokuba said warningly, getting the pod-bot upright and watching somewhat fondly as it zoomed off, pointedly swerving around Zero. "_Especially_ when they're all controlled at once and _instructed_ to wreak havoc—right, Noah?"

One of the monitors nearest Zero flickered on, and he was surprised by the image of a boy on its face. He certainly looked ten, at least by his sullen expression, brown eyes scowling at them underneath a fringe of curiously aquamarine hair.

"I wouldn't have had to do anything of the sort if _someone_ was responsible enough to swing by his own R&D department every once in a while," the boy on the monitor snipped haughtily, resting his cheekbone on his knuckles and scowling pointedly at Seto.

The eldest Kaiba rolled his eyes. "_Someone_ was a bit busy, kid," he retorted, gesturing toward his hunter companion. "Noah, meet Zero. Zero, meet the virus."

"Noah's our stepbrother," Mokuba said cheerfully, kicking Seto in the shin again and earning himself a hot –blooded slew of colorful language. "And that makes him family, as much as both of them hate to admit it."

"Yeah, I got that," Zero said somewhat uneasily, as a pod-bot drove itself over Seto's foot while Noah praised it for doing so. "Have you guys ever heard of dysfunctional families?"

"They wrote the book," Rebecca said from a corner of the room, tapping away at one of the computers, her glasses on the edge of her nose. "I'm pretty impressed, Noah—you managed to reroute _all_ electronic control to R&D, totally outside of administration."

"_I'm_ administration, you traitor," Seto retorted hotly.

"It was almost pathetically easy," Noah said, speaking over him, settling his face and both hands and smiling pleasantly at Rebecca. "It's like no one's updated the firewalls in _years_."

"Because no one but _you_ can hack them!" the CEO snapped, sounding exasperated.

"That's not excuse for negligence," Noah quipped, clearly enjoying himself. He looked over at Zero, flashing him a grin. "So. Are you dear Nii-sama's new boy toy?"

"_Noah!_"

"No," Zero said flatly, but his pulse quickened when he tried not to remember their heated exchange in the car, and the way Seto had looked at him in the hall. "I'm just crashing at their place. Career change."

"Ah. I'm a little disappointed, actually," Noah sighed. "The last one—it was Joey, right?—he was so amusing, I was kind of hoping Seto would bring someone else along."

Zero heard a very unpleasant grinding sound; he was fairly certain it was Kaiba's teeth, which opened to snap out, "What do you _want, _Noah?"

"I want credit for my work," the computerized youth replied at once.

"What are you talking about?"

"The new software you're releasing next month," Noah said, now very serious. "The virtual reality programming that you're sending off to the American developers. I want my name included in the project."

His stepbrother paused, chewing his lip, brow furrowed. "Noah—I'll admit readily that the project wouldn't have gotten done nearly so fast nor so well if it weren't for your help, but you know I can't give you public credit."

"Why not?"

"Because you're legally _dead_," Seto answered, frustrated. "If I list you as one of the developers, how am I supposed to explain your contribution? Am I supposed to tell the media that my deceased stepbrother's mind is living in my mainframe?"

"Assisting on these projects is the only thing I'm capable of doing," Noah snapped back, clearly upset. "You think I _want_ to spend the rest of my miserable existence making sure the thermostat stays constant? Or shall I _use_ the mind I was born with? It's the only thing I have left!"

"Use it all you want! Use it until you blow a circuit! I'll give you all the resources you need, but you _know_ I can't tell anyone else that it's you making this stuff!"

The boy frowned; even over the monitor, he looked close to tears. "Do you intend to take credit for what I've done?"

"I intend to do nothing of the sort," Seto replied shortly. "The other developers will receive the accolades for the software; I'll only appear as the sponsor of the funds and resources. Which is the _truth_, Noah. This is still a KC project—and whether anyone knows it, you're a part of this company."

Noah sat still and quiet for a moment, staring down at what Zero presumed was his lap; then he smiled bitterly, shaking his head. "Locking me up in a digital universe, monitoring every move I make—you're no better than Father."

Before anyone else could get a word in, the monitor turned off; all the pod-bots promptly fell on their sides, only to turn back on a few moments later, beeping monotonously, as if they'd lost all of their luster. When no one moved, Zero stooped slowly and put on upright, watching it zoom away, out the doors, which opened again of their own accord. Noah appeared to have restored power to the building. He thought he heard movement upstairs, as the few employees who'd stuck around began summoning elevators and moving down the hallways toward their respective offices.

"He didn't mean that," Mokuba said at length, breaking the awkward silence. "Not really."

Seto sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair, his brow knitted tightly. "I know," he said quietly. "But he's right. Kid doesn't deserve this."

"What else can we do?" Mokuba asked helplessly. "Short of cloning a human body and somehow imprinting his mind on its brain, there's no way for us to get him out of that computer."

"I _know_. And he understands that—he's just frustrated. Any sane person would be—and trapped like that, he's not going to stay sane for long. He need something to validate this crap position he's been forced into."

"Maybe we can fabricate something. Say that Noah left notes and stuff like that around the mansion, or on the computers—that we developed his ideas and want to give him credit post—post—"

"Posthumously."

"Yeah. That."

"I'll think on it," Kaiba replied. "If we could find a way to extend his range—get him into a mobile apparatus—he'd be even happier." He looked down at the little pod-bots, expression thoughtful. "I'll work on these. Not much, but it's a start."

"What are they for?" Zero questioned, finally sensing a place where he could comfortably come back into the conversation, thought Rebecca was wisely staying out of it, busying herself with restarting the computer. Both brothers looked over at him. "The little robots, I mean."

Seto sighed loudly, shaking his head and muttering something about wasting money; Mokuba grinned, a hint of mischief flashing in his eyes.

"I designed 'em," he said proudly, leaning down to pat one on its domed head. "They do stuff like carry supplies from office to office, or sweep hallways—although their core programming is more fun."

"Yeah? What's it do?"

Mokuba laughed, and his older brother appeared more exasperated. "Knock on Seto's office door and then bolt."

* * *

**No, Zero is not Kisara reincarnate. Because she's a trading card now. Clearly.**


End file.
